Two years’ jail for Hongkonger who certified over 1,000 tonnes of lard without inspection
A Hong Kong company director who admitted issuing certificates without actually inspecting the more than 1,000 tonnes of lard he was certifying was jailed for two years in the District Court this afternoon.
The certificates supposedly proved the lard was fit for human consumption so it could be exported to Taiwanese edible oil supplier Chang Guann – which was embroiled in a “gutter oil” scandal last year that shocked both regions.
Eagle View director So Tat-wai, 60, was jailed after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false instruments.
He admitted that since 2001, he had, through the company, issued false reports and certificates for lard that went unchecked to Kong Kwai-choi and Lai Yuk-kwan of Globalway, a Hong Kong trading firm that exported lard to Taiwan.
Police found 27 false documents in So’s office, dating from 2007 to last year, involving 1,121 tonnes of lard after the scandal broke in summer 2014.
Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said it was very important for the government to ensure food meant for the public was safe for consumption.
Chan described the gutter oil problem as having caused a “tsunami-like” disaster in the economies, resources and business reputations of Hong Kong and Taiwan and hit consumer confidence in these two places.
“[So] played a front-line role in executing [the work]. Without his help, the supplier would not export the tainted lard so easily,” the judge said. He found a deterrent sentence was a must.
Earlier, the court heard Eagle View provided quality-control certificates for food imports and exports.
Taiwanese authorities required such certificates to be issued by an independent agency so food could be imported into the island.
In its false documents to Globalway, Eagle View claimed without conducting any inspections that the lard containers were “dry and free of visible residue” and suitable for holding the oil.
The company also claimed on the documents that the lard – used in margarine, shortening and frying oil – was fit for human consumption when it had not been sent for laboratory testing.
Globalway shipped the lard to Chang Guann, which was later exposed as having produced cooking oil mixed with gutter oil recycled from restaurants and leather processing plants. It sold the tainted product to Hong Kong buyers.
The scandal forced the removal of instant noodles, steamed buns, dumplings and other foodstuff from shelves in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
So’s crime came to light after Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety spotted Globalway shipping documents that claimed its lard was fit for humans. That claim was contrary to a receipt issued to Globalway, on which the oil was described as “lard for animal feed”.
The food safety centre checked out Globalway last September upon a request from Taiwanese authorities and discovered So’s involvement.
So testified he charged HK$500 to HK$700 for each report, way below the HK$5,000 to HK$6,000 required to test a sample of lard.
In mitigation, So’s lawyer said his client was very remorseful and had shut down his business. The defendant’s chances of reoffending were very low, the court heard.
