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.
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