Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) executive Wei Ying-chun (魏應充) was indicted yesterday on charges of fraud, forgery and food-related regulatory violations for his role in an oil adulteration scandal that erupted last year. Wei, former chairman of Cheng I Food Co (正義股份), Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co (頂新製油實業) and Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業), faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
Also indicted was former Wei Chuan general manager Chang Chiao-hua (張教華) and former Ting Hsin Oil and Fat general manager Chang Mei-feng (常梅峰), as well as 10 other Wei Chuan employees.
Ting Hsin Oil and Fat, which made cooking oils marketed under the Wei Chuan brand, was found in November last year to have used adulterated oils obtained from Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co (大統長基) in its finished products.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
Chang Chi used cottonseed oil and other cheap oils in its more expensive grapeseed and olive oils, and, in some cases, used copper chlorophyllin to make the substitutes look more like olive oil.
According to the indictment, Ting Hsin Oil and Fat manufactured 65 olive oil and grapeseed oil products for Wei Chuan using oils supplied by Chang Chi between 2007 and last year, generating more than NT$792 million (US$26 million) in revenue.
Prosecutors allege that Wei and Chang were aware that they were buying adulterated oils from Chang Chi because they were informed by their quality-control department that Chang Chi’s oils were problematic, but insisted that the supplier’s products continue to be purchased.
Wei and Chang have denied the charges.
Wei has been detained by prosecutors since Oct. 17 over his involvement in a more recent edible oil scandal.
In the latest case, Ting Hsin Oil and Fat and Cheng I, another company previously led by Wei, was found to have used oils meant for animal feed in lard-based cooking oil products. The oils were also used by Wei Chuan in its food products.
Wei resigned from his posts as chairman of Wei Chuan, Ting Hsin Oil and Fat, and Cheng I — all subsidiaries of the Wei family-owned Ting Hsin International Group — on Oct. 9 following the more recent food scare.
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