Taipei:A man who admitted to reposting a defamatory fake image of Puma Shen, a Taipei mayoral candidate, has been granted deferred prosecution for two years on the condition that he attends regular legal education sessions.

According to Focus Taiwan, the incident occurred on June 7 when the accused, surnamed Wu, shared a fake photo on Facebook. The image falsely depicted Shen with a nude woman near drug paraphernalia. This photo was initially posted earlier in June on an X account by "Hsueh Ting-ting Returns," traced back to China.

When reposting, Wu commented, "This photo looks like someone. Can anyone recognize who it is?" and highlighted the presence of white powder and alleged drug paraphernalia in the image. He also posted a real photo of Shen with the caption, "Does it look like him?"

Shen filed a complaint with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau in Taipei, stating the image was defamatory as it implied drug use and inappropriate behavior. The investigation utilized software tools to confirm the image as a deepfake.

Wu admitted to posting the fake photo knowingly and later apologized publicly to Shen. Prosecutors noted Wu's remorse and clean record, granting him deferred prosecution. Shen agreed with this decision. Wu is required to attend ten sessions of legal education over two years.

The creation of the deepfake by "Hsueh Ting-ting Returns" is under separate investigation. Shen, a current DPP lawmaker, is running against incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an in the local elections on November 28.