Chiayi Dealer Indicted for Fraud for Passing Off Vietnamese Oysters as 'Budai Fresh Oysters'

(Central News Agency reporter Lu Gangjun, Hsinchu County, 6th) A dealer surnamed Wang from Chiayi County was indicted by the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office on charges of fraud and counterfeiting food for allegedly passing off imported Vietnamese oysters as 'Budai Fresh Oysters' and selling them to an unsuspecting food company, which then sold them to a chain store in Hsinchu City.

The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office issued a press release today stating that the case originated from a random inspection by personnel from the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in September 2025 at a large supermarket in Hsinchu City. They purchased five packs of oysters labeled as Taiwanese products for testing. The Fisheries Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture analyzed their appearance and trace elements, confirming they were not Taiwanese but foreign oysters. The case was then investigated by the Hsinchu City Investigation Station of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau under the direction of a prosecutor from the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office.

The prosecutors office stated that Wang, knowing that Taiwanese oyster production decreases in winter and the oysters are smaller, and that the market price of Taiwanese oysters is higher than that of Vietnamese oysters, and intending to obtain illegal benefits, ordered imported Vietnamese oysters from his upstream suppliers from July to October 2025.

After receiving the goods, the prosecutors office pointed out that Wang sold the counterfeit oysters to an unsuspecting food company at a price of approximately NT$40 per pack. The company then resold them to a chain store in Hsinchu City. Store employees, following instructions, put them on shelves with labels reading 'Taiwanese oysters (oysters) NT$72/pack'. According to statistics, Wang shipped a total of 12,216 packs, obtaining illegal proceeds of NT$516,950.

The prosecutors office stated that Wang was indicted for criminal fraud under the Criminal Code and for violating the 'Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation' by selling counterfeit food. (Editor: Li Shuhua) 1150606