The businessman at the center of a snowballing edible oil scandal was detained early yesterday on suspicion of fraud as more well-known food makers were forced to recall affected products.
A court in Pingtung County granted a request by prosecutors’ to detain Chang Guann Co (強冠企業) chairman Yeh Wen-hsiang (葉文祥) to prevent him from potentially colluding with witnesses, destroying evidence or fleeing.
Yeh was brought in by prosecutors in Pingtung for questioning on Friday afternoon, more than a week after the scandal emerged.
Photo: Taipei Times
On Sept. 4, investigators said that one of Chang Guann’s lard-based products allegedly used oil reclaimed from kitchen waste and grease from leather processing plants provided by an illegal business run by Kuo Lieh-cheng (郭烈成), who was detained on Sept. 6.
On Thursday, about 24 Chang Guann oil products were recalled as investigators found that for years the Greater Kaohsiung-based company had imported lard intended for animal feed production and other industrial uses from Hong Kong and allegedly used it to make edible oils.
More than 1,000 food companies and restaurants around Taiwan have been affected by the scandal, forcing the recall of numerous food products, from snacks to instant noodles and traditional Chinese cakes.
The businesses affected include Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業), Vedan (味丹), Mos Burger and Taipei Leechi (台北犁記), a shop known for its popular pineapple cakes and other sweets.
There were concerns that the fallout could hurt the nation’s image as a nation of good food and undermine consumer confidence in the short term.
It is the second major incident in less than a year involving edible oils.
In October last year, several well-established companies, including Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co (大統長基) and Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) admitted to mixing lower-grade oils with more expensive ones to sell at higher prices.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
NEGOTIATIONS: Taiwan has good relations with Washington and the outlook for the negotiations looks promising, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said Taiwan’s GDP growth this year is expected to decrease by 0.43 to 1.61 percentage points due to the effects of US tariffs, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday, citing a preliminary estimate by a private research institution. Taiwan’s economy would be significantly affected by the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs slapped by the US, which took effect yesterday, Liu said, adding that GDP growth could fall below 3 percent and potentially even dip below 2 percent to 1.53 percent this year. The council has commissioned another institution
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS