The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered the detention of two key suspects in an investigation into the use of a banned substance in weight-loss products.
Huang Chen-kang (黃振康), chairman of Wellcare Pharmaceutical Co, the manufacturer of Wellslim Plus+, and Wellcare research and development director Yeh Mei-keng (葉枚耕) were ordered into custody after the hearing.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last week asked the court to detain the pair, but they were released on bail. Prosecutors appealed the ruling to the Taiwan High Court, which ordered the district court to review the case.
The district court said the two failed to clear materials used in their products.
It said Huang was found to have colluded on his statement with other suspects by telephone, and he might seek to conspire with others about his statements if he remains free.
The case made headlines because of the involvement of former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) daughter, Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), who invested in the company.
She was released on NT$2.5 million (US$85,000) bail on Thursday last week.
Lien Hui-hsin told prosecutors that she had invested NT$15 million in Geneherbs Biotechnology Co — which is also a manufacturer of weight-loss product Wellslim Plus+, which was confirmed to contain a banned substance, cetilistat, a lipase inhibitor designed to treat obesity. She said she was not responsible for company operation, nor did she know about the use of illegal substances.
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