Two traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and a supplier have been indicted in a case of poisoning that allegedly caused at least eight people to fall ill in August, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said on Wednesday.
The three, based in Taichung, were found to have breached the Physicians Act (醫師法), the office said.
They are: Sheng Tang Chinese Medicine Clinic chief practitioner Lu Shih-ming (呂世明), Jin Fu Chinese Medicine Clinic practitioner Hung Chang-hung (洪彰宏) and Hsin Lung Medicine Co head Ou Kuo-liang (歐國樑), the office said
They were released on Thursday on bail of NT$200,000 each, it added.
The case came to light in early August when Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung (張彥彤) and members of his family were diagnosed with lead poisoning and hospitalized for a month, after taking traditional Chinese medicine prescribed by Lu.
The family members included Chang’s father — former Taichung City Council speaker Chang Hung-nien (張宏年) — and two others, who had been taking the medicine for a long time and had developed abdominal pains, prosecutors said.
When tested by Taichung’s Health Bureau, the medicine was found to contain excessive levels of lead and mercury.
Four members of another family, who had also been taking traditional Chinese medicine prescribed by Hung for more than two years, reported that high levels of heavy metals had been found in their blood, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officers searched the premises of Sheng Tang, Jiu Fu and Hsin Lung, they said.
A preliminary investigation found that the two doctors and the supplier had contravened pharmaceutical laws, the office said, adding that it obtained a court order on Aug. 7 to arrest them and hold them incommunicado.
The three have been indicted and are to face trial at a later date, the office said.
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