The Consumer Protection Association of Taiwan yesterday confirmed receipt of the first installment of NT$42.6 million (US$1.44 million) in compensation from cooking oil producer Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co, the result of a class-action lawsuit regarding a tainted oil scandal exposed in 2013.
The lawsuit was filed in April 2014. After more than three years of litigation, a settlement was reached in December last year with Chang Chi Foodstuff and its chairman, Kao Chen-li (高振利), association deputy secretary-general of Hsu Pang-han (徐邦瀚) said.
A total of 2,840 people came forward as plaintiffs and a settlement of NT$91.05 million, about NT$30,000 per plaintiff, was reached.
Photo: CNA
Hsu said the settlement was a victory for Taiwanese consumers, as the figure is the highest pay-out for a case of tainted food in Taiwan and also the highest amount per plaintiff of similar class-action lawsuits represented by the association.
Chang Chi Foodstuff had deposited about half of the compensation amount into a bank account as a first installment, Hsu said, adding that each plaintiff would receive NT$15,000.
The association would apply for a court injunction to seize assets belonging to Kao to ensure that the company follows through with the remaining NT$48.45 million in compensation, Hsu said.
The association plans to send the plaintiffs a request through registered mail asking them to provide identification documents and a copy of their bank passbook, association officials said, adding that the NT$15,000 payout would be wired to the account upon receipt of the documents.
An investigation found that the proprietors of Chang Chi Foodstuff knowingly supplied cheaper cottonseed oil and artificial coloring to Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industry Co for processing into cooking oil products, which were marketed as upscale pure olive oil or grapeseed oil to make illicit profits, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors in Changhua County in October 2013 indicted Kao and other Chang Chi Foodstuff executives after the investigation revealed prohibited use of copper chlorophyllin, a coloring agent, and other additives, fraudulent labeling and other contraventions of the Criminal Code and the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法).
In November 2013, the association began to collect plaintiffs for the lawsuit — consumers who were able to provide proof of purchase and related documentation as evidence for the litigation and who felt that they had suffered adverse effects from using the tainted oil products — before subsequently filing the class-action lawsuit in 2014.
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