The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Administrative Appeal Committee has canceled a NT$1.85 billion (US$62 million) fine imposed on cooking-oil producer Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co (大統) last year by the Changhua County Public Health Bureau in an adulterated oil scandal, citing the principle of double jeopardy.
Administrative Appeal Committee executive-secretary Kao Tsung-hsien (高宗賢) said the committee had held three special meetings between April and last month to deliberate the case after Chang Chi filed a petition at the end of last year asking that the fine be annulled.
“Given that the Changhua District Court has handed down a punishment against the company’s chairman, Kao Cheng-li (高振利), [in December last year], the committee members decided to cancel the NT$1.85 billion fine in accordance with Article 26 of the Administrative Penalty Act (行政罰法),” Kao Tsung-hsien said.
Kao Tsung-hsien added that the bureau would only be allowed to reimpose the fine should Kao Cheng-li be acquitted by the court.
The article stipulates that if one single act constitutes simultaneously a criminal offense or offenses, as well as a breach of duty under administrative law, it shall be punishable under criminal law.
The district court sentenced Kao Cheng-li to 16 years in prison and fined him NT$50 million on charges of fraud and violations of the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) for blending edible oil products for the previous seven years with copper chlorophyllin and cottonseed oil, which are cheaper than other edible oils and toxic if they are left unrefined.
Two senior staff members, Wen Jui-pin (溫瑞彬) and Chou Kun-ming (周昆明), were given terms of two years and 10 months respectively.
Commenting on the committee’s decision, Consumers’ Foundation chairman Mark Chang (張智剛) said the annulment of the fine would send a message to other companies that “it is okay to engage in illegal activities.”
“Unless the government is willing to increase the criminal penalties for corporations using illegal means to gain profits, there will be no one left to safeguard public health and food safety,” Chang said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS