Eight suspects charged in Taiwan 'gutter oil' scandal
Those accused include bosses of Taiwanese cooking oil company Chang Guann
Eight suspects including bosses of Taiwanese cooking oil company Chang Guann have been formally charged following the island’s biggest food scandal.
Yeh Wen-hsiang, head of the Kaohsiung-based supplier, his deputy Tai Chi-chuan and a third employee named Shih Min-yu have all been charged with violating food safety regulations and fraudulently selling gutter oil to 235 companies since March, prosecutors said.
Kuo Lieh-cheng, the owner of an illegal edible oil recycling factory that sold “gutter oil” to Chang Guann, has been accused of the same offences. Prosecutors have demanded heavy sentences if they are found guilty.
In addition, three executives from animal feed manufacturer Ching Wei, which was accused of buying “gutter oil” from the same illegal factory for use in its pig feed products, as well as a senior staff member another feed manufacturer, have been charged of illegally recycling waste.
The charges come one month after police discovered that Chang Guann blended cooking oil with recycled oil, grease and leather cleaner and then sold to 235 firms across Taiwan from March to September 2.
Prosecutors said Yeh, Tai, Shih and Kuo bought oil from kitchen waste and other waste products from an illegal factory and later processed it into edible lard oil.