Milk powder cheat gets five years

The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the conviction of a dairy food importer who bought milk substitute meant for calves and re-sold it for human consumption.

Even if the dairy products passed the nation's food safety standards, the court ruled that Wang Chia-hsing (王家興) was still guilty of deception.

The High Court gave its written judgement yesterday after Wang had appealed a previous High Court decision to the Supreme Court which had ordered a High Court review of the case.

From 1994, Wang bought calf milk substitute from Melbourne, Australia-based Multiblossom International Ltd.

He repackaged and sold the milk substitute to dozens of food manufacturers.

The court found that between 1994 and 1996 Wang purchased over 1,000 tonnes of calf milk substitute from Multiblossom and resold it as MGC Mingo milk powder for human use.

In September 1996, when the scam was uncovered, it was found that the milk substitute was used to make cakes, breads, ice creams and chocolate.

The case caused panic among consumers and the food authorities were slammed for negligence.

The incident was also ranked among the top ten consumer stories in 1996.

During the trial Wang denied the powder was calf milk substitute and argued it complied with the nation's safety standards for dairy foods.

In July 1997, Wang was found guilty and sentenced to five years and eight months by the Taipei District Court for deception.

The guilty verdict was upheld by the Taiwan High Court in Nov-ember 1998.

However, the Supreme Court allowed Wang's appeal and ordered a review of the case in September last year on the grounds that the conviction failed to specify the standard by which the milk was deemed hazardous to human health.

Following its review of the case, the High Court confirmed its original finding and sentenced Wang to five years and four months in prison.

In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the High Court asked the health authority if there was a danger to humans from calf milk substitute.

In its conclusion, the High Court said calf milk substitute was never meant for human consumption and therefore would not be analyzed on this basis.