Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/08
By: Huang Huei-min and Yu-Chen Chung
Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) The island county of Kinmen on Monday slapped a fine of
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Customs
NT$200,000 (US$6,486) on a visitor for the first time since the penalties were raised late last year for bringing meat into Taiwan, according to a Customs officer.
Kaohsiung Customs officer Lai Heng-mao (賴恒茂) said Tuesday that the NT$200,000 fine was imposed on a Chinese tourist, who was attempting to enter Kinmen by sea with 0.4 kilograms of sausages.
The sausages were seized at Shuitou Pier and handed over to the Kinmen Inspection Station, a unit of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ), Lai said.
Since the fines were increased Dec. 18 last year amid fears over African swine fever (ASF), more than 45 people have each been fined NT$200,000 at various ports in Taiwan for attempting to bring meat products into the country in violation of its laws, according to BAPHIQ data. [FULL STORY]
