Gangster threatens to kill rival in televised video

AN alleged Taiwanese gangster chose a novel way of threatening the life of a rival — he sent a video to a local TV station in which he threatened to kill him.

Chou Cheng-bao, reputedly a member of the Celestial Way Gang, sent the video to TVBS two weeks after police said he was involved in a shoot-out with other members of the gang in the city of Taichung on March 18. The video was broadcast repeatedly on Taiwanese cable news stations.

Chou brandishes a pistol in the direction of a table laden with automatic and semiautomatic rifles, and says he is going for Liu Rei-rong, reputedly another member of the gang. “The next time I bump into you, I’ll kill you,” he said.

Taiwanese media say Chou was attempting to kill Liu during the Taichung shoot-out. Liu was wounded, though not seriously.

Police said Chou’s threat against Liu — and the public way it was made — may be an effort by him to raise his standing in the gang.