Ex-SET TV host ruled not guilty in wild animal importation case

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Former SET TV host Lee Tian-yi (李天怡) and two others were acquitted on Tuesday of breach of faith for their roles in arranging a deal to bring wild animals from Africa to a local zoo in Taiwan, according to the Taiwan Taipei District Court.

The ruling can be appealed.

According to prosecutors, Lee served as the main contact for the Wanpi World Safari Zoo, which sought to import giraffes and zebras from Africa, while also being listed as a director of Pacific Image Ltd., which she and others set up to arrange the import.

Prosecutors contended that Pacific Image artificially inflated the price of the animals in negotiating the US$5.46 million contract that caused the zoo to lose US$2.37 million, and that Lee was guilty of breach of faith because she did not act in the best interests of the zoo.

The court ruled, however, that she was not guilty because she had no decision-making authority and was only responsible for passing information between the two parties.

The decisions to sign the US$5.46 million contract to bring the animals to Taipei and then to not go through with the importation the following year were instead made by the plaintiff, SET Group Chairman and zoo owner Chang Rong-hua (張榮華), the court said.

In addition to Lee being found not guilty, the court also acquitted the other two individuals implicated in the case -- Lee's husband and a businessman.

The ruling dismissed the prosecutors' argument, which accused Lee of playing both sides in the deal and not submitting the best prices for the animals to the zoo.

According to prosecutors, after Chang took over the zoo in Tainan in early 2020, he asked the former host for help to import African wildlife because he believed her to have connections in Africa as she often traveled to the continent for her TV program.

Believing that Lee got the best price offer, Chang then signed the contract with Pacific Image in 2020 to import giraffes, zebras and other animals into Taiwan, according to the indictment.

Upon signing the contract, Chang remitted US$3.79 million to Pacific Image, and Pacific Image later distributed US$250,000 as a dividend to the Hong Kong account of Lee's husband -- also a director of Pacific Image.

Chang decided the next year, however, to cancel the purchase after animal rights groups in Taiwan voiced concern that the planned importation would encourage poaching and threaten the wildlife population.

During further discussion of the case, Lee's remarks raised the suspicions of Chang's staff, who later reported the case to the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office.

An investigation by the prosecutors found that the defendants asked a price of US$54,000 for a giraffe and US$14,000 for a zebra -- which was about four times the price quoted by their contact in southern Africa.

Prosecutors argued that inflating of the price had led to a loss of US$2.37 million for the zoo, while Lee and her husband made a profit of roughly US$250,000 out of the deal.

The court ruled, however, that Chang forfeited the US$3.79 million payment to Pacific Image when he reneged on importing the animals.

It also did not accept the prosecutors' breach of faith argument that Lee and her partners were responsible for part of that amount because of the high markup they put on the price of the animals when Lee was supposed to be helping Chang and the zoo secure good terms for the deal.

In response to Tuesday's ruling, prosecutors said they will consider an appeal. The TV company, meanwhile, issued a statement saying it will seek an appeal.