The FDA will Coordinate with the Changhua County Government to Continue Handling the Fine Imposed by the Intellectual Property Court on Chang Chi in Its Appellate Ruling on the Cooking Oil Adulteration and Fraud Case for Use as a Food Safety Protection Fund 



The Intellectual Property Court has handed down an appellate ruling against Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co., Ltd., Kao Cheng-li, and three other people in the cooking oil adulteration and fraud case. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects that the Prosecutors Office will immediately enforce the fine imposed on Chang Chi in the court ruling and that the fine will be successfully used in a food safety protection fund in accordance with Article 56-1 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation in order to strengthen food safety and sanitation mechanism, provide a complete guarantee of food safety and subsidize consumer groups to file lawsuits. The FDA will also supervise the Changhua County Government in deliberating on the follow-ups after the full text of the ruling is released. 

On July 24, 2014, the Intellectual Property Court handed down an appellate decision against Chang Chi, Kao Cheng-li, and three other people involved in the cooking oil adulteration and fraud case. Kao Cheng-li, the head of Chang Chi, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and Chang Chi has been fined NT$38 million. 

The Taiwan Changhua District Court initially handed down a sentence of 16 years in jail to Kao Cheng-li and a fine of NT$50 million against Chang Chi. The prosecutors and the defendants, Chang Chi and Kao Cheng-li, objected to the decision and filed their respective appeals. The Intellectual Property Court then handed down a criminal ruling of Xing-Zhi-Shang-Yi-Zi No. 13 of Year 2014 in its appellate decision with the abovementioned punishment and fine. As the full text of the ruling hasn’t been released yet and the Intellectual Property Court’s own news release serves as the only available reference, the FDA will supervise the Changhua County Government in deliberating on the follow-ups after the full text of the ruling is released. 

The FDA expresses its respect for the appellate ruling made by the Intellectual Property Court. According to the news release by the Intellectual Property Court, the criminal ruling for this case is final as punishments for the crime of fraud will be imposed and no further appeals will be accepted. The FDA expects that the fine imposed on Chang Chi in the ruling will successfully be transferred to the food safety protection fund.