TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese entertainer Kunda Hsieh (謝坤達) on Wednesday admitted to paying for a false high blood pressure report to evade military service.
Police took Energy boy band member into custody for questioning before transferring him to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, per CNA.
On Tuesday, prosecutors and police in New Taipei launched a third round of searches and arrests, detaining four entertainers for questioning. They were accused of breaking the Act of Military Service for Officers and Non-commissioned Officers of the Armed Forces and Criminal Code forgery provisions before being released on bail.
Actors Hsiu Jie-kai (修杰楷), Chen Bolin (陳柏霖), and fellow Energy member Chang Shu-wei (張書偉) were each released on NT$500,000 (US$16,200) bail. Liao Yun-chieh (廖允杰), also known as Liljay, from the boy group Lollipop F, was released on NT$350,000 bail.
Hsieh, who was abroad for work, missed Tuesday's questioning sessions. He arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, when authorities detained and took him to Yonghe Police Station.
After about two hours of interrogation, Hsieh was transferred to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further questioning. Prosecutors later released him on NT$500,000 bail on suspicion of breaching the military service and forgery laws, per CNA.
After posting bail, Hsieh told the media that he was sorry for "disappointing so many people." He pledged to take full responsibility and fully cooperate with the investigation.
Sources said Hsieh admitted to paying NT$200,000–300,000 to a suspect surnamed Chen (陳) to forge medical records and evade conscription. He reportedly anticipated being implicated after searches in May targeting William Liao (廖亦崟) and Nine Chen (陳零九)
He discussed how to handle the situation with his agent and management company, but before they could decide on a response, a warrant for his arrest was issued.
