The son of disgraced former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian lost a libel case against a magazine over allegations he used prostitutes.
The Kaohsiung District Court ruled yesterday that the son, Chen Chih-chung, failed to make his case as he was reluctant to provide video that could have refuted the report or testify against the magazine.
The ruling dealt yet another blow to the scandal-plagued former first family. But analysts said this would not affect the chances of the junior Chen being elected to Kaohsiung City Council at the end of this month.
Chen Chih-chung filed a NT$2 million (HK$512,300) libel suit against the Taiwan edition of Hong Kong-based Next Magazine on July 26 after it reported that he betrayed his wife, Huang Jui-ching, by calling prostitutes for sexual services.
In its July issue, the magazine published the report and photos of a woman, identified with the name Nicole, who admitted that Chen had used her services for some time. The photos showed the woman getting out of a car owned by him, but no pictures of the son were taken.
Chen cried foul, saying it was a ploy to sabotage his campaign for the council, for which he is running as an independent candidate. Chen said he had lent his car to a friend, who in turn lent it to another businessman from Taipei. He also denied using a cellphone to make appointments with prostitutes between March and July this year, as Next reported.
The court ruled that the cellphone was owned by Chen, who used it to make calls between March and July.
