TV stations may be fined for airing 'Gangster Show'

Taipei Mar 28 (UNI) The National Communications Commission (NCC)has said that it might fine several television stations for airing footage produced by a gangster showing himself wielding guns and threatening to kill his rival.

The NCC in a news release yesterday said such airing could have violated stipulations that the content of TV programmes should not be against public order and good morals and that images in TV news should be of the ''general'' grade, meaning they are suitable for all ages. It added that the matter will be discussed in a consultancy committee before a decision is made, reported Central News agency of Taiwan.

Chou Cheng-pao, a 33-year-old Taichung criminal, had appeared on several TV broadcasts since late Monday. In the footage that he shot and mailed to a TV station, the flak-vest-wearing Chou sits behind a table on which two M-16 rifles and two handguns are displayed.

Chou in the footage claims that he conducted three recent shootings that injured his former gang boss Liu Juey-jung and two accomplices.

He accused Liu of masterminding the March 23 murder of gangster Lin Chen-hsing and betraying followers. Lin had been released on controversial bail for his role in a kidnapping of Taichung City Council Speaker Chang Hung-nien in 2001.

Chou claimed that he will continue to hunt Liu. He pointed a handgun at the camera and said: ''I'll kill you when I see you.'' According to the NCC, some television stations obtained the video from the Taichung city police. Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang said officials responsible for the leak will be ''severely punished'' if the investigation proves the NCC claim to be true.

Meanwhile, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu today urged the central government to lead all local governments in Taiwan in declaring war on organized crime.

Returning from Japan after a five-day visit, Hu immediately went to the Taichung city police bureau to hear a briefing on the police investigation into a case in which members of a crime syndicate adopted an unusually high profile in announcing their intentions to shoot one another.

In self-produced video tapes sent separately to TV networks earlier this week, an underworld kingpin and his estranged former follower each demonstrated an array of firearms and threatened to kill each other.

The video footage -- televised by nearly all TV networks -- has not only bruised the pride of Taichung police, but also signaled a regression in the city's public safety record.

Hu said he was kept well-informed about the case while in Japan and felt that police could never tolerate criminals settling scores in such a "flagrant, audacious" manner and totally ignoring the existence of law enforcement agencies.

Noting that Taichung's public safety rating moved up seven notches last year in comparison to other cities and counties in Taiwan, Hu acknowledged that despite the improvement, a series of criminal cases involving the use of firearms this month has left the impression that Taichung's public safety has deteriorated.

The mayor urged the central government and all local governments to work together in fighting organized crime.

Hu admitted that in previous efforts to improve Taichung's public safety, he did not pay particular attention to preventing organized crime.

He expressed confidence in the ability of the Taichung police force to bring the criminals to justice.

Taichung used to receive the lowest satisfaction ranking in terms of public safety among all Taiwan's cities, but managed to cut crime in 2006 and recorded fewer than 4,000 criminal cases per 100,000 residents -- the lowest crime rate in 10 years.

Methods used by the mayor included cash rewards to meritorious police officers, setting up closed-circuit cameras on every street within the city to discourage crime, and recruiting an additional 500 police officers every year over four years to supplement the city's existing force of 2,500 officers.

UNI