Criminal complaint against 15 people and four companies due to cooking oil scandal in Taiwan

Prosecutors in Taiwan filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday against 15 people and four companies over a substance found in cooking oil that is said to have carcinogenic effects. This substance led to product recalls and political turmoil.

More than 2,800 tonnes of cooking oil have been removed from shelves since Taiwan's food inspection agency announced in early July that a batch of oil produced by Central Union Oil Corp contained excessive levels of a hydrocarbon called benzo(a)pyrene.

Prosecutors for Central Union, a company headquartered in the city of Taichung, accuse the company of delaying reporting the contamination to authorities and failing to issue an immediate recall as required by food safety laws.

Three companies that founded Central Union in 1995 are accused of knowingly using contaminated oil and repackaging or adulterating it and selling it to consumers.

"They harbored malicious intent and disregarded the public's food safety," prosecutors said in their statement.

Opposition parties and President Lai Ching-te's government have been blaming each other for the scandal, which has been making headlines in local media for weeks.

Thousands of people attended the opposition rally held over the controversy and called for the prime minister and the health minister to resign, but both refused to resign.

In addition to the four companies, six executives and nine employees were also charged, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors are seeking up to 14 years in prison and a fine of up to 160 million New Taiwan dollars (US$5 million) under food safety regulations.