An army officer investigated for bringing civilians to an army helicopter base is facing another charge.
The army officer is Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng, deputy head of a helicopter squadron. He brought local celebrity Janet Lee and her family to an army helicopter base on Sunday. The unauthorized visit came to light after Lee posted photographs she took of the cockpit of an Apache attack helicopter on social media. The four photographs that she posted included two showing her sitting in the cockpit.
Now Lao has become the focus of yet another scandal. The army issued a statement on Saturday confirming that Lao appeared at a Halloween party last year wearing an Apache pilot helmet. The helmet is worth NT$2 million (US$64,600). Lao will be investigated for the new revelations of misconduct.
Taiwan acquired 30 Apache attack helicopters from the United States at a total price of US$1.9 billion. The model E is the latest in the helicopter series and Taiwan is among a few countries that are using it so far.