A leading suspect accused of importing tainted chili powder was ordered detained incommunicado on Wednesday, reversing an earlier release as prosecutors said he disappeared after posting bail.
Kaohsiung prosecutors on Tuesday issued a renewed arrest warrant for businessman Lee Yen-ting (李彥廷), alleging he went missing after posting bail.
Police found him later that afternoon, but Lee, 47, protested the arrest as illegal.
Photo: Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
At 10pm, he was released by order of the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court, as police failed to present the original warrant during his arrest, instead showing a photograph on a phone.
However, the Kaohsiung District Court in a morning hearing determined he presented a flight risk and possibility of tampering with evidence, and ordered he be detained.
Lee vowed through his lawyer to appeal.
Lee, his sister-in-law, surnamed Wu (吳), and an employee surnamed Hsieh (謝) were initially arrested on Saturday, but were released on bail of NT$800,000, NT$200,000 and NT$200,000 respectively.
They are accused of importing chili powder with traces of the carcinogenic industrial dye Sudan III through 10 companies in Taiwan and one in China using friends’ and relatives’ names.
The 10 companies were found to have been importing products containing Sudan III since 2018, prosecutors said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated