District prosecutors late on Tuesday night questioned the managing director of Sika Taiwan Ltd on suspicion that the company failed to inform the city government of a defective adhesive product used in construction work on the Xinsheng Overpass (新生高架橋).
Chang Yun-hao (張允豪), the company’s managing director, was questioned as a witness. He told prosecutors during the questioning that the AnchorFix-4 product was not defective.
SUSPICION
Sika Taiwan is suspected of failing to inform the Taipei City Government of a product recall in January by the manufacturer’s US branch, Sika USA.
The city government used one of the recalled products, AnchorFix-4, in several construction projects, including the Xinsheng Overpass, until the Chinese-language Next Magazine contacted city officials earlier this month with questions about the use of the adhesives.
Chang told prosecutors that the manufacturer’s US branch, Sika USA, had ordered a recall of the product; however, only certain batches were found to be defective. He said that the AnchorFix-4 products shipped to Taiwan had already been processed and were not defective.
RAID
Taipei District prosecutors and investigators from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau on Tuesday launched a surprise raid of the company’s office in Lujhu Township (蘆竹), Taoyuan County, and confiscated physical evidence including inventory reports, contracts, company correspondence and other documents as part of their investigation into the scandal.
Whether the company deliberately concealed information regarding the product recall or forged documents are all key elements of the investigation, prosecutors said.
The Xinsheng Overpass has been undergoing a NT$1.6 billion (US$48 million) renovation since July last year.
It had been scheduled to reopen at the end of next month.
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