Hong Kong trio detained for fraud in gutter oil investigation
Three people arrested in investigation into firm that supplied Taiwan with lard oil as authorities consider system to track buyers of used oil
Two men and a woman were arrested for fraud yesterday in a police investigation into a trading company suspected of supplying a Taiwan firm with industrial lard oil that was labelled as fit for human consumption.
The development came as the city's health minister said officials were considering introducing a tracking mechanism for buyers of used oil.
The two men, aged 59 and 64, and the woman, 31, suspected of conspiracy to defraud, were arrested in Tsuen Wan, Tai Po and Tuen Mun, respectively. One man was taken back to trading company Globalway's office in Tai Kok Tsui in the afternoon.
Globalway's proprietor was said to be one of those arrested. The trading firm is under investigation amid suspicions it had bought lard oil - made from pork fat but intended for animal feed or industrial use - from the Po Yuen Lard Company, a manufacturer in Yuen Long, and supplied it to Taiwanese edible oil firm Chang Guann.
Chang Guann is believed to have blended the lard oil with "gutter oil" from restaurants and leather processors.
Food and Health Secretary Dr Ko Wing-man said yesterday the incident had tarnished Hong Kong's reputation. "This is very serious," he said.
He said the government was considering a tracking mechanism to prevent used oil being sold for human consumption.
Apart from a tracking mechanism, Ko said officials would also look at other means of control, including penalties. "We will further discuss the matter with the relevant committees of the Legislative Council and the industry concerned and then decide on the direction to ensure that used oil will not be recycled for human consumption," he said.
Ko also said no company in Hong Kong was licensed to produce edible lard oil.
The oil-processing industry has been calling for rules to be imposed on the purchase of used oil - usually kitchen waste from restaurants and hotels.
Steve Choi, executive director of Dynamic Progress International, one of three Hong Kong companies that recycle used oil - including lard oil - into biodiesel, said yesterday that the price of used oil had risen as much as fourfold in recent years.
As no regulations governed the buying of used oil, Choi said he believed some unscrupulous buyers had reprocessed it and then sold it as edible oil.
Government figures estimated that a total of 16,000 tonnes of used oil was produced in Hong Kong last year. Of this amount, 11,000 tonnes was recycled into biodiesel.
Choi said most of the rest would be exported to the mainland and other neighbouring places including Taiwan. But the labels on used oil from Hong Kong could be altered in countries that banned or restricted its import, he said.
He called for a licensing system for buyers of used oil under which licensees would have to provide proof that the oil was not later used to make edible oil. He said a similar system was already in place for recycled engine oil.
Kenji Wong Yiu-kwong, operations director of Champway Technology, another of the three recyclers, agreed that the city should introduce a licensing system where only those with licences could buy used oil.
