Company director in ‘gutter oil’ scandal ‘issued false papers for 1,000 tonnes of lard shipped to Taiwan’
A company director accused of falsely issuing documents for more than 1,000 tonnes of lard which was never inspected for human consumption today admitted in court his involvement in the “gutter oil” scandal that shook Taiwan and Hong Kong last year.
A company director accused of falsely issuing documents for more than 1,000 tonnes of lard which was never inspected for human consumption today admitted in court his involvement in the “gutter oil” scandal that shook Taiwan and Hong Kong last year.
So Tat-wai, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false instruments at the District Court.
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The false documents suggested So’s company had inspected lard containers, finding them “dry and free of visible residue” and suitable to carry lard, even though no inspections had been carried out.
His company also issued documents which claimed the lard Globalway produced was fit for people to use – in the form of margarine, shortening and frying oil – while in fact it had never been sent to a laboratory for testing.
The lard was shipped to Taiwanese firm Chang Guann, which was last year found to have produced tainted cooking oil mixed with waste oil collected from cookers, fryers, grease traps and recycled grease from leather processing plants, that was sold to customers in Hong Kong.
The scandal forced hundreds of tonnes of cakes, bread, instant noodles, biscuits, steamed buns and dumplings to be removed from shelves in Taiwan and Hong Kong.