Reported by United Press International - Dated August 6, 2006
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Billiards Champ Missing; Gambling Rumored
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Taiwanese billiards champ Jennifer Chen was missing Sunday after allegedly running up enormous debts illegally gambling on baseball and soccer, a report says.
The Taipei Times said Chen's mother, who it did not identify by name, said she was worried her daughter might have been kidnapped by gangsters.
Illegal sports gambling is rampant in Taiwan and is often run by organized crime, the newspaper says.
The 30-year-old former No. 1 billiards star, nicknamed "Beautiful Baby," allegedly lost $609,000 gambling on Taiwanese and U.S. Major League Baseball games and more than $304,000 on this summer's World Cup soccer competition, the newspaper reports.
Local media reported Chen fled to Hong Kong and was in hiding to evade bookmakers trying to recoup their money.
Billiards coach Chang Ming-hsiung, who has known Chen for 10 years, said he did not believe Chen was a gambler.
"Chen is a good girl, and the gambling allegations are rumors," he said.
Chen came to prominence in the 1990s, claiming the Women's Professional Billiards Association's world No. 1 ranking in March 1999.
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Billiards Champ Missing; Gambling Rumored
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Taiwanese billiards champ Jennifer Chen was missing Sunday after allegedly running up enormous debts illegally gambling on baseball and soccer, a report says.
The Taipei Times said Chen's mother, who it did not identify by name, said she was worried her daughter might have been kidnapped by gangsters.
Illegal sports gambling is rampant in Taiwan and is often run by organized crime, the newspaper says.
The 30-year-old former No. 1 billiards star, nicknamed "Beautiful Baby," allegedly lost $609,000 gambling on Taiwanese and U.S. Major League Baseball games and more than $304,000 on this summer's World Cup soccer competition, the newspaper reports.
Local media reported Chen fled to Hong Kong and was in hiding to evade bookmakers trying to recoup their money.
Billiards coach Chang Ming-hsiung, who has known Chen for 10 years, said he did not believe Chen was a gambler.
"Chen is a good girl, and the gambling allegations are rumors," he said.
Chen came to prominence in the 1990s, claiming the Women's Professional Billiards Association's world No. 1 ranking in March 1999.
