Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2020
By: Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Supreme Court yesterday issued a final verdict in the case of unlicensed cooking oil producer Kuo Lieh-cheng (郭烈成), ordering a combined sentence of 20 years in prison for aggravated fraud and breaches of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).

Kuo had operated an underground cooking oil factory in Pingtung County’s Jhutian Township (竹田) that supplied processed oil materials to Kaohsiung-based Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), which made various “fragrant lard” products that were sold nationwide under the Chuan Tung brand and generated profit estimated at NT$6.5 million (US$216,436 at the current exchange rate).

An investigation pointed to Kuo as one of the principle figures in the 2014 tainted oil scandal, along with Chang Guann executives and Pingtung-based animal feed producer Ching Wei Co (進威).

Related cases that year embroiled Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團), as well as its subsidiaries Wei Chuan Food Corp (味全) and Cheng I Food Co (正義食品), which purchased oil products from Chang Guann for the production of food products.    [FULL  STORY]