NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Scenes of a sex scandal: Five-star hotels to low-rent motels

Herald on Sunday
19 Oct, 2013 04:30 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Len Brown took Bevan Chuang to the SkyCity Grand. Photo / Nigel Marple

Len Brown took Bevan Chuang to the SkyCity Grand. Photo / Nigel Marple

Len Brown entertained his mistress Bevan Chuang for two years at Auckland's top hotels and in the plush offices of the town hall. But she outed him in fast-food joints and cheap motel rooms

Explosive revelations of Auckland Mayor Len Brown's affair with Bevan Chuang were dished up at a 24-hour McDonald's restaurant.

The scandal began moving from whispers behind hands to a bombshell on a blog when Whale Oil website owner Cameron Slater contacted his former Truth colleague Stephen Cook.

Cook - who was sacked from the Herald on Sunday in 2008 and lost an Employment Relations Authority claim against the newspaper - began contact with Chuang by text and quickly arranged a meeting.


Sunday, October 6 - Stephen Cook meets Bevan Chuang for the first time at a cafe on Ponsonby Rd. Luigi Wewege unexpectedly shows up a few minutes into their meeting.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He says he wants to create an "American-style smear campaign" against Brown before the mayoral election.

Chuang says Brown "flirted" with her. Cook says: "Well hold on, love, flirting is a perception. There's no story here.

"If you're going to make these sorts of allegations you've got to have some evidence."

Wewege presses Cook to take the case but he refuses.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Cook phones Slater. "I said I've talked to this girl, the whole thing's politically motivated. She's said there was some flirting. She's been put up to this by this Luigi character. I didn't feel comfortable with him turning up.

"He's a shadowy character. It was like he was under the table urging her on.

"They were clearly working as a team and, now I think about it, seeing if I was willing to swallow this line to save them having to go that one step further."

Slater, who is in Dubai, tells Cook: "That's fine, that's why I got you involved because I needed your judgment."

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Palino admits carpark meeting

19 Oct 05:15 AM
Opinion

Herald on Sunday editorial: Brown has questions to answer

19 Oct 04:30 PM
Opinion

Kerre McIvor: Mayor's affair a sad sideshow

19 Oct 07:24 PM
Opinion

Deborah Coddington: Power as a turn-on

19 Oct 04:30 PM


Tuesday, October 8 - Anonymous threatening text messages are sent to Chuang, Slater and others.

Saturday, October 12Election day in Kingsland. Len Brown's family are all smiles, despite Brown having told his wife of the affair on Monday. She isn't wearing a wedding ring.


Sunday, October 13 - Chuang calls Slater, who says he is keen to use the text messages against Brown.

That night, Chuang and Palino meet in a Mission Bay carpark to discuss revealing news of the affair.

In a sworn affidavit, Chuang says Palino told her he indicated a need to "get Len before the end of the week", the earlier the better.

They plan to suggest to Brown that he can claim he can no longer perform the duties of a mayor because of his health problem. "This would give him an opportunity to be a hero and assured that he won, so he did not lose any face."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Chuang continues to text Cook, inferring more serious allegations, and he agrees to meet again.


Monday, October 14 - Cook and Chuang meet in a McDonald's on Great North Rd at 9pm.

They spend two hours thoroughly going over every aspect of her liaisons with Brown.

"I told her we start from the beginning and we do this chronologically," Cook says, "every bit of evidence that's going to be damaging to him.

"We talk for about two hours. She's giggling, laughing.

"She's feeding off it, loving it. None of this stuff is being solicited. She offered it all up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I told her it wasn't realistic to remain anonymous."

Cook admits he doesn't warm to Chuang. He works through the night until 4.30am at a Ponsonby motel on writing Chuang's account.


Tuesday, October 15 - Cook picks Chuang up and takes her to a Central Auckland cafe.

She reads the 2,000-word affidavit he has prepared before taking her to Auckland District Court and signing the document in front of a judge.

Cook sends the statement to Slater and leaves multiple messages with Brown and his office, seeking comment about unspecified "serious allegations".

Cook calls Chuang at her parents' place in Central Auckland.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He tells her to turn her phone off, to get another number, to speak to no one but her mother and sister for the next 24 hours and to keep off the internet.

That afternoon, the media storm erupts - Cook picks Chuang up and takes her to a Mt Eden motel.

He pays $260 for two nights. Shortly after he texts her: "You've been named on Campbell Live."

Two hours later, he phones Chuang and she's not at the motel. She is at the North Shore home of a friend.


Wednesday, October 16 - Chuang avoids Cook but he persists and finally, they speak. He tells her Brown's supporters are smearing her name. "We've got to get you out there," he tells her. "You've moved from victim to perpetrator."

Cook devises a media plan - Radio Live with Duncan Garner, 3rd Degree, Woman's Day, Herald on Sunday and the Sunday programme. "We can turn this thing around for you," he says, "make it a priority."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She agrees. But two minutes before an interview with Radio Live, she pulls out. "I'm sitting right next to her and she looks completely vacant," Cook says.

After that she breaks off contact, avoiding all contact with Cook and Slater ... talking directly with media she chooses.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Editorial

Editorial: Super Rugby Pacific has turned around – and fast

23 Jun 05:00 PM
New Zealand

'It will be the end of his career': Auckland musician who abused ex fights for anonymity

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
New Zealand

Supermarkets admit breaching Fair Trading Act with misleading prices, face millions in fines

23 Jun 05:00 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Editorial: Super Rugby Pacific has turned around – and fast

Editorial: Super Rugby Pacific has turned around – and fast

23 Jun 05:00 PM

OPINION: Super Rugby Pacific's changes have sped up the game and made it a better watch.

'It will be the end of his career': Auckland musician who abused ex fights for anonymity

'It will be the end of his career': Auckland musician who abused ex fights for anonymity

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Premium
Supermarkets admit breaching Fair Trading Act with misleading prices, face millions in fines

Supermarkets admit breaching Fair Trading Act with misleading prices, face millions in fines

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Wellingtonians now pay far than most Kiwis for insurance

Wellingtonians now pay far than most Kiwis for insurance

23 Jun 05:00 PM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP