Cooking oil firm's boss appears in Taiwan court over food scandal

A Taiwan court yesterday ordered the detention of the former head of Wei Chuan Food, a subsidiary of mainland-based Ting Hsin International Group, over his alleged role in a cooking oil scandal.

Wei Ying-chung, 57, one of four brothers of the Wei family that owns the group, was questioned by prosecutors on Thursday for allegedly selling edible oil blended with products meant for animal feed.

He appeared in court yesterday for a hearing after prosecutors requested the court to place him in custody in preparation for an official indictment.

"We have decided to detain him for fear that he might collude with others to provide falsified accounts or flee abroad," a spokesman of the Changhua District Court in central Taiwan said.

The court also detained a manager of a factory owned by Ting Hsin Oil in Pingtung, southern Taiwan, for his alleged connection to the food scare.

Judicial officials said that during the hearing Wei denied all accusations, saying he had no idea why cooking oil supplied by Cheng I and Ting Hsin - two Taiwanese subsidiaries of Ting Hsin group - had been blended with substandard ingredients.