The Legislative Yuan on Thursday passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that will authorize the courts to confiscate illicit profits gained from sales of adulterated food products.
The revision gives courts the power to take over the illicit gains of both juridical persons and non-juridical individuals.
The move came after the Supreme Court overruled an extraordinary appeal filed by Prosecutor-General Yen Ta-ho (顏大和) to confiscate NT$1.85 billion (US$55.9 million) from Chang Chi Foodstuff Co (大統長基), which was responsible for a major tainted oil scandal, saying that law that stipulates that confiscation of illicit gains can only be carried out on people, not against corporations.
The ruling triggered widespread controversy amid calls for the government to get tough on companies that make or sell adulterated food.
The amendment also allows the courts to seize any objects purchased with illicit gains and related interests derived from the illegally obtained income.
Chang Chi had been mixing premium olive and grapeseed oils with cottonseed oil and selling the mixture as 100 percent pure products. It also added copper chlorophyllin to the products to give the oils a darker and more expensive appearance.
The company was fined NT$28 million in October 2013 by the Changhua County Government and shut down.
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