From The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Master Kong (Taiwan) Foods Co., Ltd. an affiliate of the embattled Ting Hsin International Group, has been dissolved, a company official announced Monday.

Chia Hsien-der, vice president of Ting Hsin’s public affairs office, told local press that the decision to disband the company was based on a resolution made at a recent meeting of the group’s board of directors.

Chia said that the dissolution would not affect the listing of depository receipts issued by Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp., the parent firm of Master Kong.

Master Kong (Taiwan) had engaged in the import of food-processing machinery equipment, which it leased to Wei Chuan Foods Corp. for the contract production of Master Kong Instant Noodles, the company spokesman said.

Contract Production of Instant Noodles Terminated

He said that contract production of the instant noodles was terminated in Taiwan after a spate of oil scandals hit Ting Hsin in 2014 and 2015.

After that, Master Kong (Taiwan) was no longer engaged in any substantive business, the spokesman said.

‘No documents’: Government

“This is why the group’s board of directors has decided to dissolve and liquidate Master Kong in accordance with the company law,” Chia said.

The Department of Commerce under the Economics Ministry had yet to receive the dissolution document from Master Kong (Taiwan), department officials said.

The officials said that the company was required to submit an application to scrap its company-registration records with the commerce department within 15 days of the dissolution announcement.

The officials continued that as Master Kong (Taiwan) was registered as a foreign company reinvested by Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp., the holding company must apply to the Investment Commission under the Economics Ministry to withdraw its investment after liquidating Master Kong’s assets.

The ‘Exterminate Ting Hsin’ Campaign

After finishing the liquidation and returning money to shareholders, Tingyi will not be able to remit the remaining money outward without completing the investment withdrawal application, the officials said.

Master Kong (Taiwan) was deemed a casualty of the “Exterminate Ting Hsin” campaign launched in Taiwan in the wake of a series of food safety scandals centered on Ting Hsin.

Food Safety Scandals

Reports had implicated Master Kong is using problematic oil in its noodle products.

Although Wei Ying-chung, former boss of Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co., was suspected to be behind the scandals, he was found not guilty in November 2015 in a ruling by the Changhua District Court.

Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office had originally sought a 30-year sentence for Wei’s role in the scandals, which involved tainted cooking oil, nutritional supplements, milk, rice and other food products.

Two weeks after the verdict, prosecutors filed an appeal, saying the judgment was erroneous and based on “unfounded grounds.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2017/01/03/488340/Tainted-oil.htm

IMAGE: China Daily