Former Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co (頂新製油實業) chairman Wei Ying-chun (魏應充) might not be able to spend the Lunar New Year holiday at home after the Taiwan High Court yesterday revoked a ruling by a lower court that Wei be freed on bail.
“This is a complex case with as many as eight defendants, and there a large number of Ting Hsin Group employees that could potentially be called as witnesses in the case,” the Taichung branch of the High Court said in ordering that a new bail hearing be held.
The Changhua District Court might have been “premature” in releasing Wei on bail and concluding that there was no risk of Wei and three other defendants colluding with others before it had questioned all of the potential witnesses in the case.
The High Court said the case constituted a major offense against public property and health, and involved important public interests.
It said there was “room for debate” on whether the lower court’s bail ruling would prevent the defendants from fleeing or whether the bail was set at an appropriate amount.
Wei was not put back into detention following the High Court’s ruling, but he is required to appear at the new hearing, which the Changhua District Court said it would schedule today.
On Wednesday last week, the district court ordered Wei released on NT$100 million bail and the three other defendants released on NT$5 million bail.
The exposure of the use of inappropriate ingredients in cooking oils sparked public outrage, leading to a nationwide boycott of Ting Hsin products and services.
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