Apple Sidra yesterday sacked general manager Sun Yu-ying (孫幼英) amid allegations that top executives defrauded the company.
The launching of last week’s judicial probe saw executives of Oceanic Beverages Co Inc (大西洋飲料) summoned for questioning and Sun detained.
New Taipei City prosecutors said that allegations surfaced last year after the company made three real-estate deals totaling NT$640 million (US$20.73 million at the current exchange rate), but could not verify the transaction records and payment transfers when an audit was performed by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
After questioning, Oceanic Beverage chairman Chiang Kuo-kuei (江國貴) was released on bail of NT$150,000, while four independent directors, including Su Yun-le (蘇芸樂) and Lin Wei-chiang (林偉強), were bailed on bonds of NT$34,000 to NT$400,000, prosecutors said, adding that further investigation could produce indictments.
The company’s board of directors yesterday held an emergency meeting and dismissed Chiang and Sun, and named company auditing head Wang Chen-min (王鎮民) to assume both roles.
Since its creation in 1965, the Apple Sidra brand has dominated the domestic beverage market, together with Taiwan's Hey Song Sarsaparilla (黑松沙士), enjoying to this day a considerable market share, despite inroads made by global soft drink giants Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc.
Oceanic Beverages' revenue from global sales last year reached NT$600 million, of which Apple Sidra contributed nearly 90 percent, or NT$540 million, a company report showed.
However, the company’s share price has fallen from NT$16 early last year to NT$9.72 on April 2.
Allegations of mismanagement and financial irregularities have plagued Oceanic Beverages since the New Taipei City Department of Health fined it NT$1 million in November last year for failing to monitor product quality and NT$1.2 million the following month for contaminants found in Apple Sidra bottles on supermarket shelves — both breaches of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
In the November incident, the company conducted a recall.
Health officials said that 122 complaints were filed against the company from July to September last year by people who had purchased Apple Sidra.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS