[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A female police officer in Taiwan has sparked controversy after it was belatedly revealed that she had sunbathed in her underwear on the rooftop of a police building.
Police said the behavior was not illegal, but acknowledged that it was inappropriate for a public-sector employee.
According to Taiwanese media outlets including Mirror News, a whistleblower reported that a female officer surnamed Hu, who works for the Kaohsiung City Police Department, had sunbathed on the rooftop of the department's support center building around April or May last year.
Photos released along with the report showed the officer lying face down on the rooftop floor, wearing underwear that exposed her lower body, while soaking up the sun.
Some outlets said the whistleblower claimed, "This happened during working hours."
As the controversy spread, the Kaohsiung Police Department verified the facts and issued an official statement.
The police said, "It was confirmed that the officer used her lunch break to sunbathe on the rooftop," adding, "However, no violation of regulations was found."
They added, "Sunbathing in a revealing state on a public building with office space was inappropriate," and said, "We will make sure similar cases do not happen again." However, police did not provide a detailed explanation for why the officer sunbathed on the rooftop.
Meanwhile, the officer is said to have worked for about eight years and is currently on leave while studying in Japan.
Local internet users reacted with comments such as, "How frustrated must she have been?", "Shouldn't the person who secretly filmed her also be punished?", and "If no one is around, can't she do that during a break?"
Jang Jong-ho
