Airlee Clinic Chairman Chang Ju-shan Detained in Massive Spycam Scandal
The spycam scandal engulfing Airlee Clinic, Taiwan's largest medical aesthetics chain, took a dramatic turn Thursday as a New Taipei court ordered the detention of chairman Chang Ju-shan, his special assistant Chang Yuan-ling, and an engineer surnamed Hsieh. The three face charges under the Personal Data Protection Act, the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, and the Criminal Code. Airlee's CEO Liu Chen-hua was released on NT$5 million bail with restrictions on overseas travel.
The investigation began on May 1 when a sharp-eyed customer at Airlee's Banqiao branch noticed something odd about a smoke detector in a treatment room — it was actually a disguised pinhole camera. Within hours of the discovery, engineer Hsieh allegedly embarked on a frantic tour of Airlee branches across northern Taiwan, systematically removing hard drives and servers from surveillance systems at more than 10 locations. Investigators are treating this as evidence destruction, a factor that weighed heavily in the court's decision to order detention rather than bail for the three key suspects.
The scale of the alleged surveillance operation has shocked Taiwan. At least seven former customers have come forward to file formal complaints, fearing they were recorded during intimate medical procedures. Attorney Ou Hui-chen has organized a victims' support group that is growing daily. A former Airlee nurse came forward with even more disturbing allegations, claiming the company operated "comprehensive surveillance" that extended beyond treatment rooms into employee dormitories, and that management had previously used connections to pressure police and fire officials who raised questions.
Health authorities have launched nationwide inspections of all Airlee facilities, with Kaohsiung health officials discovering suspicious "recording in progress" signs in treatment rooms at two branches, along with ceiling tiles that appeared to have been recently removed. The Ministry of Health and Welfare warned that clinics found to have violated patient privacy could face license revocation. Meanwhile, the brand's celebrity endorsers have moved quickly to distance themselves: singer Jeannie Hsieh demanded an immediate halt to use of her image, calling the alleged violations "unacceptable intrusions on bodily autonomy," while actor Jimmy Lin confirmed through his studio that his endorsement deal with Airlee had already ended earlier this year.
Airlee has pledged full refunds for unused course packages, though affected customers report the process requires in-person registration at the original branch where services were purchased — a requirement some view as an additional obstacle. As investigators continue to examine whether any footage was transmitted to cloud servers, the case has ignited a broader national conversation about patient privacy, clinic regulation, and the lengths to which businesses may go to monitor their premises under the guise of security.