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Gas furor demerits meted out

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday finalized punishments for officials at state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), who were found negligent for not preventing the sale of gasoline mixed with methyl alcohol at a Taipei gas station.

CPC chairman Pan Wenent (潘文炎) and president Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎) each received a demerit, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) told a press conference yesterday.

"The demerits represent the responsibility they should shoulder since there were flaws in their supervision [during the fuel row]," he said, rejecting media speculation that the government had thought about removing Pan.

More importantly, the ministry has instructed the oil company to introduce new procedures that ensure it sells only high-quality gasoline to the public in the future, Chen said.

In addition, the ministry would punish officials at its own energy bureau by the end of this week, Chen said before making a public apology to fuel consumers.

Before the ministry's ruling, CPC itself decided to impose punishments on middle-ranking officials following an executive meeting yesterday afternoon.

Chief of CPC's market business division, Chiang Chung-chen (江中鎮), and director of CPC's sales department in Taipei, Lin Lung-lieh (林榮烈), were each given two demerits while CPC vice president Tsao Mihn (曹明) was removed from his duties as company spokesman, CPC's six-point statement said.

CPC also made a public apology for its failure to issue a warning to the public in early September when it discovered that gasoline being sold at the Heng Chia gas station on Wanfang Road contained methyl alcohol, the statement said.

Following customer complaints received in August, CPC learned on Sept. 10 from laboratory tests performed on gasoline samples from the station that the gasoline contained 10 percent methyl alcohol. But the company waited until last week to suspend the gas station's operations. Therefore, CPC, on behalf of the gas station, would immediately reimburse car-owners if they submit the relevant papers -- including car-repair records and fuel invoices from the station during the period between Sept. 10 and last Friday -- before June 30, the statement said.

The company would also conduct laboratory tests on gasoline samples from franchise stations on a monthly and random basis, the statement said. Previously, test were done on a bi-monthly basis.

The company asked its customers to inform it if they were suspicious about the fuel on sale at any of its franchise gas stations by calling toll-free at 0800-036-188.

If further irregularities were found, the company vowed to inform the public within one day of it being discovered and immediately cease operations at the gas station involved, the statement said.
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