Father, son sentenced over fraud linked to Taiwan's ASF outbreak

Taichung, July 28 (CNA) The Taichung District Court on Tuesday sentenced a father and son surnamed Chen (陳) to prison for fraud and other offenses related to an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak at their farm in October 2025.

The younger Chen was handed a three-year prison term, while his father received a sentence of one year and six months. The verdict can be appealed.

Prosecutors charged the two men in February with fraud, document forgery and the filing of false reports under the Waste Disposal Act for not reporting pig deaths and described their conduct as "extremely malicious" and "seriously harming national interests."

According to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, the case stemmed from a period beginning Oct. 10 last year, when pigs at their farm in Wuqi District began dying in large numbers.

The Chens, however, failed to report the disease and instead administered antibiotics on their own, but the treatment failed to stop the deaths, prosecutors said in their indictment.

They underreported deaths, sending some carcasses to a licensed processor while hiring illegal operators to dispose of others, and prosecutors found that 46 pig deaths were not reported.

After inspections and mandatory testing, authorities confirmed ASF and culled the 195 remaining pigs on Oct. 22, 2025, prosecutors said.

At the time, they also accused the Chens of administering amoxicillin without a veterinary diagnosis during the outbreak and selling 28 pigs for over NT$320,000 (US$10,200) at auction on Oct. 13 using a false health declaration.

Taiwan had been declared free of ASF in May 2025, but following the outbreak authorities imposed a five-day nationwide ban on the transporting and slaughter of pigs and temporarily barred the use of kitchen waste as feed.