The head of a Taiwanese company at the center of a snowballing oil scandal has been detained.
Early Saturday, chairman of Chang Guann Co. Yeh Wen-hsiang was taken into custody on suspicion of fraud. The move was to prevent him from colluding with other suspects, destroying evidence, and fleeing the country.
Investigators found that the company had bought tainted oil from an unlicensed factory and mixed it with lard-based oil for sales across Taiwan.
On Thursday 24 Chang Guann oil products were recalled as investigators found that for many years, the company had imported lard intended for animal feed production and other industrial use from Hong Kong and allegedly used it to make cooking oil.
More than 1,000 food companies and restaurants across Taiwan have been affected in the scandal. This forced the recall of many food products from snacks, instant noodles, to traditional cakes.
Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta on Saturday offered to resign over the scandal, but his resignation is yet to be approved by the premier.