Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
A vending machine claiming to sell ‘original flavour’ porn star knickers airfreighted from Japan for 2GBP a pop is being investigated by regulators.
Authorities in Taiwan’s north-western city of Hsinchu said they were examining whether the product sold out of a coin-operated toy capsule vending machine was considered ‘indecent’ or breached advertising laws.
The vending machine can be found in a 24-hour unmanned claw game arcade near the busy Hsinchu Railway Station.
The machine claims to offer a limited stock of ‘original flavour underwear’ worn by Japanese adult film stars, which are packaged and then immediately sent to Taiwan by airmail while apparently still smelling of the adult entertainer who last wore them.
Warnings of ‘18 and over’ appear on the machine, as well as words reading ‘limited’, ‘airfreight’ and ‘original flavour’.
Each pair of knickers is sold in a black plastic toy eggs and costs 100 TWD (2.6 GBP).
However, despite what the evocative advertisements, the underwear sold inside appears to be brand new and still come with a tag, local reports said.
A short distance away, a claw machine offering contestants the chance to grab sex toys can also be seen.
Members of the public concerned with the legality of the products reported the vending machine to the police.
Hsinchu police have said the underwear vending machine included R-rated warnings and did not publicly display the knickers, which cannot be seen through the black plastic capsules.
They said the product existed in a legal ‘grey area’, and that it was therefore difficult to determine whether they could be considered indecent or subject to a fine under a certain regulation.
Prosecutor Chen Yu-hua, with the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office, said the owner of the underwear vending machine could not be punished unless it could be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the items of clothing had actually been worn before.
Chen called the enforcement of any commercial goods or advertising regulation in this case “challenging”.
However, the authorities are continuing to look into the matter and had grounds to fine the owner of the claw machine openly selling sex toys in a public space, he said.
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