23 people indicted for exporting garbage disguised as plastic waste

Taipei, June 9 (CNA) Twenty-three people have been indicted for their roles in exporting garbage disguised as plastic waste that allegedly netted the fraud ring more than NT$49 million in illicit gains, New Taipei prosecutors said Monday.

Of the 23 people indicted, prosecutors requested a sentence of at least three years for the scheme's leader, surnamed Chou (周), and at least 30 months for two others, but they did not suggest a specific sentence for any of the remaining individuals.

According to the indictment, several environmental waste management firms collected general waste and stored it in Shulin and Wugu in New Taipei in northern Taiwan and Shetou in Changhua County in central Taiwan.

Chou, who owned one of the environmental management firms and three other companies registered under the names of his children, including a transportation company, then had the garbage transported to Daliao in Kaohsiung.

Once there, it was compressed, repackaged and disguised as plastic waste and then shipped to Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam for sale, prosecutors alleged.

Chou collected about 5,400 metric tons of garbage for a fee of NT$8.5 (US$0.28)-NT$12 per kilogram, and that along with the reprocessing and export scheme allowed him to obtain about NT$49.54 million in illegal gains, the indictment said.

According to prosecutors, Chou and the other 22 people who helped Chou in the illegal scheme were indicted for failing to clear or dispose of waste as well as failing to honestly report the category of the waste in accordance with the Waste Disposal Act.

Twelve companies related to Chou and his 22 accomplices are faced with fines of at least NT$10 million under the Act.

What Chou and the 22 others did involved illegal transportation of waste across the borders, which has resulted in an environmental hazard and caused potential risks in public health, the prosecutors said.

Their conduct has tarnished Taiwan's international credibility and compromised the country's international image for environmental protection, the prosecutors said.