Authorities yesterday detained three key suspects in a case involving Taichung-based traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) businesses, after seizing materials from three companies on Thursday as part of an investigation into mercury and lead poisoning allegedly due to medicinal powder that contained cinnabar.
The investigation in the past week focused on Sheng Tang Chinese Medicine Clinic (盛唐中醫) owner Lu Shih-ming (呂世明), Jiu Fu Chinese Medicine Clinic (九福中醫) practitioner Hung Chang-hung (洪彰宏) and Shin Long Co (欣隆藥業) owner Ou Kuo-liang (歐國樑).
The Taichung District Court ruled to have the trio detained, citing the possibility of destruction of evidence and collusion on testimony, as they faced pending charges of document forgery, fraud and for breaches of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法).
Taichung City Health Bureau officials said that 60 people who had received treatment at Sheng Tang have been tested for mineral poisoning, with 16 allegedly to have lead poisoning. Poisoning with mercury was also suspected in some of the cases.
Officials also urged people in Taichung and central Taiwan who had visited one of the three clinics and have been prescribed medication to be tested for poisoning.
The case was made public on Friday last week when family members of Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung (張彥彤) said they were suffering from lead poisoning. Chang said he became critically ill after being treated by the clinic and was later diagnosed with multiple organ failure, while his sister and parents also suffered lead poisoning.
Prosecutors argued that Lu had contravened the law by prescribing ingredients prohibited by health authorities.
Bright red cinnabar has historically been used as pigment, and is banned in Taiwan, as well as in most other countries, as it consists of mercury sulphite, which can damage the brain, nervous system and major organs.
Investigators have tested the powder seized from Shin Long, which supplied the other two clinics, and found excessive levels of mercury, lead and other heavy metals.
Prosecutors said Lu and Hung had evaded health authorities by prescribing a formula containing the powder without indicating it on official receipts, and patients had paid for the treatment without involving the National Health Insurance.
Investigators said that Hung produced what he called “Five Treasure Powder,” with cinnabar as a main ingredient. He allegedly sold it as a cure for various ailments to patients, who are now suffering from serious health problems, Taichung health officials said.
Health authorities issued orders for Sheng Tang to close for two months and fined Lu NT$500,000. Authorities ordered Jiu Fu to close for one month and fined the clinic NT$300,000.
Lu was also fined NT$100,000 for failing to record the prescriptions of powders containing cinnabar.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man