Taiwanese Tycoon Faces Charges in Cooking Oil Scandal
By AUSTIN RAMZY
OCTOBER 30, 2014 7:54 AM
A
Taiwanese food industry tycoon faces more than 130 charges carrying a possible
sentence of up to 30 years in prison in connection with a scandal over the
widespread sale of substandard cooking oil.
Wei
Ying-chung, 57, is the highest-profile suspect to face prosecution over revelations that have raised widespread questions about the safety of food in Taiwan and the
quality of its food exports. Mr. Wei’s family owns the Ting Hsin International
Group, which has broad interests in the food industry, particularly in China , where
its Kang Shi Fu instant noodles are ubiquitous.
Earlier
this month, Mr. Wei stepped down as chairman of three Ting Hsin subsidiaries,
and the company announced it was pulling out of the Taiwan market
for cooking oil. Prosecutors ordered Mr. Wei be detained two weeks ago as the
investigation into the companies expanded.
The
food safety scandal has centered on substandard cooking oil, often called
“gutter oil” or “rancid oil.” The latest problems emerged in September, when the police
raided a factory in southern Taiwan
that was processing oil using waste from restaurants and slaughterhouses.
That
investigation implicated a company, Chang Guann, that had sold hundreds of tons
of tainted oil across Taiwan
and for export around the region to locations including Hong Kong and Macau . Its chairman, Yeh Wen-hsiang, faces 235 counts of
fraud and other charges.
The
investigation into Ting Hsin was announced a month later. But Wei Chuan Foods
Corporation, one of Ting Hsin’s Taiwan
subsidiaries, had been involved in a food
safety scandal last year, when it
was found to have sold cooking oil that was substandard and contained illegal
additives.
In
the latest scandal, Ting Hsin is accused of selling cooking oils tainted with
substandard materials, including products meant for animal feed it imported
from Hong Kong and Vietnam .
While no cases of serious illness have been linked to the scandal, it has
raised questions about long-term effects and why the problem continued for more
than a year after the first warning signs emerged.
Structure of the Lead:
WHO-Wei Ying-Chung
WHEN-OCTOBER 30, 2014 7:54 AM
WHAT- cooking oil tainted oil scandal
WHY- Ting Hsin sold cooking oils tainted with substandard materials
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given
Keywords:
1. tycoon 巨頭
2. substandard 不合格的
3. suspect 嫌疑人
4. prosecution 檢察官
5. revelations 啟示
6. investigation 調查
7. gutter oil 地溝油
8. slaughterhouses 屠宰場
WHEN-OCTOBER 30, 2014 7:54 AM
WHAT- cooking oil tainted oil scandal
WHY- Ting Hsin sold cooking oils tainted with substandard materials
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given
Keywords:
1. tycoon 巨頭
2. substandard 不合格的
3. suspect 嫌疑人
4. prosecution 檢察官
5. revelations 啟示
5. revelations 啟示
6. investigation 調查
7. gutter oil 地溝油
8. slaughterhouses 屠宰場
Wei Ying-chung really is a bad guy. He product substandard products not only harm people's health but also destroy Taiwan's reputation. This news also reflect a fact: many businessmen of Taiwan run a business just for money. How to teach the new generation correct ethics is a matter.
回覆刪除Normally, people like to use local things, but the food scandals in Taiwan have let us lose the confidence to our local food, we now don't know what we can eat because anything will be detected with something bad for our body.
回覆刪除When buying things, people usually give priority to famous companies. However, due to the food scandal, people realized that some of these companies did something bad in order to get more profits. That makes people lose confidence to them and also makes people's health be in danger.
回覆刪除