Taiwan court rejects damages claim over Lebanon pager blasts

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) The Shilin District Court has rejected a damages claim filed by 13 foreign nationals against a Taiwanese company linked by media reports to pagers that exploded in Lebanon in 2024, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to complete required legal authorization procedures.

The case stems from a series of pager blasts on Sept. 17, 2024, involving devices used by members of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

The explosions killed and injured multiple people, including civilians, and drew international attention after reports citing anonymous U.S. and other officials said the devices allegedly bore "Made in Taiwan" markings and were produced by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo Co. Ltd., with the model identified as AR-924.

Taiwan's Shilin District Prosecutors Office later concluded that Gold Apollo had never manufactured a pager model designated AR-924 and that the devices involved were produced, traded and shipped overseas by an international corporation, Frontier Group Entity (FGE).

Prosecutors said the presence of the Gold Apollo trademark on the pagers was due to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 2022 between the company and FGE.

Under the MOU, FGE paid an annual brand licensing fee and agreed to purchase a certain volume of other Gold Apollo products, therefore obtaining authorization to use Gold Apollo's self-manufactured products and trademark.

Prosecutors said they found no evidence linking Taiwanese firms or individuals to the explosions and closed the criminal investigation in November 2024.

Despite that finding, 13 foreign nationals residing overseas authorized lawyers in Taiwan to file a civil lawsuit seeking damages from Gold Apollo and also applied for litigation assistance.

However, Shilin District Court said the plaintiffs did not sign the civil complaint or the application for litigation aid, and their lawyers failed to submit powers of attorney authenticated by Taiwan's overseas representative offices.

Under Taiwanese law, when a power of attorney is issued abroad and its authenticity is disputed, it must be certified by a Taiwanese overseas mission to be deemed valid.

The court said Gold Apollo challenged the authenticity of the authorization documents.

On Nov. 10, 2025, the court ordered that procedural deficiencies be corrected within 40 days.

Although the ruling was served a week later, the plaintiffs failed to submit the required authenticated documents before the deadline and did not provide sufficient justification for the delay, the court said.

As a result, the court ruled that both the lawsuit and the application for litigation assistance were unlawful and dismissed them on Jan. 19. The decision can be appealed.