All women in Korea, Japan, and China were filmed… Identity of ‘Uncle Chi’ who bragged about “sexual assault lessons”

In crowded trains and buses, someone touches a woman’s buttocks. Click through and you’ll find an endless stream of secretly captured videos of this kind of molestation. These videos from all over Asia, including South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, are posted on a Chinese-language site called Dingbuzhu (“I can’t take it anymore” in Chinese)안전놀이터. It’s reminiscent of South Korea’s N-Bang.

The BBC’s investigative journalism team spent a year tracking these videos down, and on Aug. 8 (local time), they reported the results. The BBC’s persistence led them to the culprit, aka Uncle Chi.

The BBC spent a year investigating a group of men who were selling videos online of women who had been sexually harassed in public places in South Korea, Japan, and other East Asian countries. Maomi, a video seller, running away from a reporter (left). Captured from the BBC homepage
One of the first places the BBC’s investigative team focused on was Dingbuju. There were tons of videos available for less than a dollar (about 1,300 won). They found that the site’s operators were even customizing sexual assault videos. Dingboozhu also led to a site called “Chihan Club,” which sold similar content. It was selling similar content, but there was one video producer’s name that stood out because it appeared repeatedly on these sites. It was “Uncle Chi.

Digging deeper, the BBC was able to contact the footage supplier, a man named Noctis Zhang, 30. Born in China and living in Tokyo, Japan, Noctis Zhang used to be a singer in a metal band, but was actually working as a supplier in collusion with fellow band member Rufus Fu. Posing as a talent scout, we got in touch with Noctis Zhang and found out that behind him was the architect of the whole thing, Mr. Qi, or Maomi (“Cat” in Chinese). He was a Chinese man living in Tokyo who played the role of “Dr.” Jo Joo-Bin in South Korea’s Room N case. “I uploaded more than 5,000 videos to the site and kept 30 percent of the sales revenue, while sending the rest (70 percent) to Maomi,” explains Noctis Zhang.

Noctis Zhang (pictured), who was born in China and lives in Tokyo, Japan, used to be a singer in a metal band, but behind the scenes, he colluded with his bandmates to supply cheating videos. Twitter capture
To get to the heart of the case, we had to meet Maomi. Posing as an investor in the site, we were able to meet him at a karaoke bar in Tokyo over the Lunar New Year holiday. “The site makes between ¥100,000 and ¥200,000 ($930-$186) a day, and it’s steadily profitable,” Maomi said proudly. I interviewed him and found out that “Uncle Chi” like Maomi is part of a team of 15 people. Ten of them are based in China, and the videos they produce are aggregated and sold on three sites owned by Maomi, the boss.

Maomi (pictured), a Chinese national living in Tokyo, ran a site that sold sex crime videos. In South Korea’s Room N case, Maomi played the role of “Dr.” Jo Joo-bin. Captured from the BBC homepage
The sites had more than 10,000 paid members. Most of them were Chinese men. In addition to videos of molestation in everyday places, videos of drugging and sexually abusing women were also being sold. Maomi also revealed that he was “training his subordinates in the art of sexually assaulting and filming (women).”

“He said he was very discreet, but showed a vulnerable side, showing a credit card with his real name, Tang Juran, on it,” the BBC reported. The man, who also said he hoped to become a naturalized Japanese citizen, punched a cameraman and fled when the reporter later identified himself and asked for a further interview, the BBC said. “‘Uncle Chi’s’ Twitter account is still alive,” the broadcaster said, adding that it “reached out to Twitter for comment, but all it got back was a feces emoji.” Since March of this year, Twitter has responded to all media inquiries with the feces emoji.

Takako, 24, who campaigns against sexual misconduct in Japan, told the BBC that “women are just objects to sexual predators” and called for tougher penalties for offenders like Maomi. In Japan, a bill to amend the country’s criminal code to toughen regulations on sex offenses was recently submitted to the Diet. “Activists are calling for tougher penalties than the proposed amendments,” the BBC noted.