Farmer in Taiwan given medal for exposing gutter oil scandal
CNA
2014-09-19
Kuo Lieh-cheng's oil factory in Pingtung, which has now been shut down. (Photo/Pan Chien-chih)
Taiwan's cabinet awarded a medal Thursday to a local farmer for exposing Taiwan's latest oil scandal with Premier Jiang Yi-huah vowing to prevent similar food safety incidents from happening again.
The farmer from Pingtung county, whose identity was withheld to protect his safety, did not attend the ceremony to receive the medal in person.
Also commended at the ceremony was Wu Chih-ming, a detective from the first precinct of the Taichung City Police Department, who helped the farmer with the investigation.
According to media reports, the 60-year-old farmer spent two years gathering evidence on his own to expose the wrongdoings of the underground factory operated by Kuo Lieh-cheng that produced oil using putrid kitchen waste and other substandard ingredients, after officials in the southern county failed to take his complaints seriously.
The farmer and his neighbors, whose farmland was polluted by Kuo's factory, reported the factory's questionable practices to the Pingtung County Environmental Protection Bureau five times, but to no avail.
He then purchased digital cameras and surveillance equipment and gathered evidence for two years, before reporting his findings to police in Taichung in central Taiwan.
After some initial investigations, Taichung police then referred the case to the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office, which conducted raids that eventually exposed the oil scandal that affected over 1,200 food processors and restaurants around Taiwan.
The farmer has been in hiding after his whistle-blowing action was reported in the local press even though his name has not been disclosed.
Addressing the ceremony, the premier said the incident has caused an estimated NT$5 billion (US$165 million) in economic losses and created a tremendous panic among consumers, who are no longer certain what is safe to eat.
Jiang pledged that the cabinet will improve its food safety monitoring mechanism and "must not allow a similar incident to repeat itself."
He also urged government agencies to be proactive and unafraid of taking responsibility, as demonstrated by Taichung police and Pingtung prosecutors in handling the farmer's complaints.
