Three people implicated in a controversial scheme to import eggs during a domestic shortage in 2022 were released without bail after being questioned by prosecutors.
The three people questioned, all listed as possible defendants in the case, are former minister of agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), former National Animal Industry Foundation (NAIF) president Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) and Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季).
Prosecutors did not specify why the two Chens were named as possible suspects for contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), although Chen Chi-chung was in office in 2022 when the alleged illegality occurred.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The case originated in 2022 when Taiwan faced an egg shortage, prompting the then-Council of Agriculture (COA, now the Ministry of Agriculture) to import eggs from other countries.
The Control Yuan, the government watchdog, said the NAIF was defrauded of more than NT$100 million (US$3.12 million) after being entrusted by the COA in 2022 to handle the emergency egg supply issue.
Japan was one of the countries from which Taiwan wanted to import eggs, and the NAIF commissioned Wu Yu-fei (吳諭非), a food company representative familiar with trade with Japan, coordinated the egg imports and specified Brilliance Biotechnology as the importer, before Chin Yu-chiao (秦語喬), Wu’s mother, founded Ultra Source to handle the imports, the Control Yuan said.
As a result, the NAIF contracted Brilliance Biotechnology to import eggs from Japan from March to May 2022, followed by procuring more than 25 million eggs from Ultra Source between August and November that the company had stocked after importing them from Japan, the Control Yuan report said.
The Control Yuan report said the NAIF purchased eggs from Ultra Source before the company was even registered.
The report also said that the NAIF failed to inspect the quality and quantity of the imported eggs upon delivery, and retroactively filled out contract paperwork.
The report also cited prosecutors as finding that Ultra Source repeatedly forged quotations and inflated import charges to defraud the government-funded NAIF of NT$100 million.
When the case came to light, the choice of Ultra Source was particularly scrutinized because it had no record of previous egg imports and was established with only NT$500,000 of paid-in capital.
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office last month in collaboration with other investigation units raided 14 locations and summoned eight people and three other witnesses for questioning.
After questioning, Chin, Lin I-lung (林宜龍), head of Brilliance Biotechnology; Wu Chun-ta (吳俊達), then a specialist at the foundation; and Lin Chang-hsien (林昌憲), an employee at Brilliance Biotechnology, were released on bail of NT$2 million, NT$1 million, NT$500,000 and NT$300,000 respectively.
Prosecutors have also sought to question Wu Yu-fei, but she has not answered the summons.
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
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
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
RSS