The New Taipei City Government Legal Affairs Department’s plans to allow consumers who bought oil products from Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團) to apply for group appeals against the corporation were panned by Ting Hsin yesterday on grounds of abuse of legal resources and interference with judicial independence.
The corporation was accused of multiple cases of allegedly importing or buying adulterated oil products from other sources.
In September last year, the corporation’s subsidiary company, Wei Chuan Co (味全公司), purchased oil from Chang Guann (強冠), who had in turn purchased adulterated oil from Kuo Lieh-cheng (郭烈成) that was made by mixing recycled oil with animal feed oil.
The company’s direct upstream oil provider, Hsin Hao Corp (鑫好企業), sold adulterated oil to Ting Hsin’s subsidiary Cheng I Food Co (正義食品).
The New Taipei City project sought to encourage consumers who purchased the adulterated oils from Ting Hsin subsidiaries as defined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to join in the city government-headed group for legal action, promising NT$500 in damages per person before the legal process began.
Eligibility for applying is restricted to New Taipei City residents who purchased products from Ting Hsin before Oct. 10 last year.
The adulterated oil cases are still under trial, with relevant evidence still awaiting confirmation and clarification by judicial procedure, Ting Hsin said yesterday in an official statement.
The firm hopes that legal proceedings will yield the truth in the matters, Ting Hsin said yesterday.
Ting Hsin added that it hopes society adheres to the spirit of law and the principle of presumed innocence, the firm said, adding that the public should not form its opinion before legal results are announced.
Ting Hsin panned New Taipei City Government, calling on it to cease using governmental resources to incite nationalistic tendencies and infringing on judicial independence.
All professional knowledge on oil manufacturing as well as refinement procedures have been distorted by society, Ting Hsin said.
The firm wishes the case to enrich the public’s knowledge on the profession of oil manufacturing and refinement, Ting Hsin said.
Let professionalism and evidence do the talking, and leave politics and the judiciary to their separate spheres of influence, the corporation said.
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