Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday proposed health authorities punish food safety violations on a case-by-case basis to ensure that unscrupulous merchants are heavily penalized.
A political storm was triggered when a Food and Drug Administration inspector recently uncovered di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, in a food supplement, leading to further discoveries of the chemical in sports drinks and dietary supplements.
‘CLOUDY AGENT’
The source of contamination was traced back to a food additive from Yu Shen Chemical Co called a “cloudy agent,” commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juice and other drinks.
KMT caucus whip Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said manufacturers who knowingly adulterate food with toxic substances or sell such products should be charged with attempted murder.
At present, the maximum fine stipulated in the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) for such violations is NT$300,000 (US$10,300).
According to an amendment to the law proposed by KMT Legislator Huang Yi-chiao (黃義交), the maximum fine would be raised to NT$5 million, and in the event of serious violations, an offender could have his or her license revoked.
PRISON TERM
The bill also says that if a violation is determined to have had a serious impact on public health, offenders face a prison sentence of up to seven years and a maximum fine of NT$10 million, whereas the current maximum is three years and a NT$900,000 fine.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) urged prosecutors to temporarily freeze the assets of Yu Shen Chemical Co to prevent the owner from disposing of them.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
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The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
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