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Deepening interdepartmental cooperation to construct solid communication bridges Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office holds meeting with Department of Health, Kaohsiung City Government to discuss new system for mediating medical disputes
In response to the implementation of new system regulated by Medical Accident Prevention and Dispute Resolution Act, which took effect on January 1, 2014, Taiwan High Prosecutors Office convened relevant departments in December of 2013 to hold a meeting on "Strategies for Implementing Medical Accident Prevention and Dispute Resolution Act ." During this meeting, Q&A was offered to be the guidance for frontline prosecutors and medical institutions regarding cases related to the implementation of the Act. The meeting also resolved that district prosecutions offices should establish task forces or specialized units for handling such cases and strengthen horizontal communication and coordination. Recognizing the effectiveness of the mediation system relies on collaborative efforts among administrative authorities, medical institutions, and district prosecutions offices, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office actively deliberated and established communication mechanisms and operational procedures with relevant parties. On February 24, 2014, led by Head Prosecutor, Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office LIN,CHIH-YU, director of the medical affairs division, accompanied by prosecutor WU,LING-CHIA, colleagues from the administrative department, and Head Prosecutor HSIEH,CHANG-HSIA from the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office, they visited the Department of Health, Kaohsiung City Government to meet with Director-General HUANG,CHIH-CHUNG and colleagues from the Medical Affairs Division to discuss practical operational matters, including the planning of local medical dispute mediation meetings, acceptance procedures, handling methods for medical professional consultations under Article 9 of the new law, and the analysis of medical dispute cases under Article 21(2), retrieval and provision of relevant information, and designated contact points. They also discussed promoting practical communications with local medical institutions and the Physicians' Association, aiming to enhance the operation and coordination processes of the mediation system through meetings and exchanging views, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of interdepartmental cooperation. In the future, Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office will continue to enhance exchanges and cooperation with local administrative authorities and relevant medical institutions through contact meetings. Guided by the conclusions of the meeting on "Strategies for Implementing Medical Accident Prevention and Dispute Resolution Act " held by Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, We will actively promote mechanisms for resolving disputes outside the court, facilitate rational dialogue between doctors and patients, and safeguard the rights and interests of both parties involved.
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Approaching Chinese lunar new year, Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors leading MJIB, FDA and Kaohsiung Department of Health uncovered local chain markets selling manipulated expiration date of raw meat and hot-pot ingredients, two defendants were granted bail 2 million and 200,000 NTD.
The Prosecutor's Office recently received information suggesting the sale of expired frozen foods at certain chain markets, then appointed Civil Crime department Chief Prosecutor Zhuang Ling-Ru, and Prosecutor Li Yu-zi leading MJIB to form a special team for investigation immediately. After collecting solid evidences, Prosecutor Li Yu-zi led the Kaohsiung City Investigation Division, along with the Kaohsiung Department of Health and FDA Southern Regional Center, to inspect the main and branch stores of the supermarket in Gushan and Lingya Districts in Kaohsiung on January 29, 2024. The team discovered 184 packages of food which been altered expiration dates and 81 packages food with suspected expiration, and brought back five suspects. After prosecutor interrogation, defendant Mr. Zhong (the owner, born in 1948) and Miss Huang (store manager, born in 1947) were both accused violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, aggravated fraud under the Criminal Code, and forging documents. Due to accusing is strongly suspected, they were granted bail of 2 million and 200,000 NTD separately, and the other three employees were released. The defendant Mr. Zhong, operated many chain fresh supermarkets in the wealthy resident area in Kaohsiung, known by selling internationally imported fresh products. Mr. Zhong and Miss Huang were clear aware of the actual shelf life of products, such as roasted sweet potato cake, sake-marinated red sea bream, custard fish cake, various raw meat and hot-pot ingredients, were less than one year. However, for gaining profits illegally, they opened various food items, repackaged them in transparent vacuum bags, instructed employees to use the POS system to print fake labels indicating shelf life more than a year and affixed labels on the package. Then they sold these items to consumers at three stores. They also sold expired products as if they were still within the expiration period. The defendants profited unlawfully through this method. The prosecutor had instructed health officials to administratively seal the problem products found on-site and removing expired goods from the shelves. The prosecutor will investigate further and clarify the number of affected consumers and the details of illicit gains. As approaching Chinese lunar new year, the demand for holiday purchases increasing. Prosecutor's Office will continue to strengthen cooperation with local health authorities on the existing Livelihood Safety Platform to ensure safety of food. The Prosecutor's Office also urges food suppliers should abide the law, or would face legal consequences. The Prosecutor's Office always maintains zero-tolerance policy towards food safety violations to safeguard public security.
