Taiwan to raise fines and rewards over \\\'gutter oil\\\' scandal

TAIPEI, Sept 17 (AFP): Taiwan's government said Wednesday it plans to increase tenfold the fines for food safety violations and offer whistle-blowers more rewards to tackle a widening "gutter oil" scandal.
Fines for violations will be raised ten times to a maximum Tw$200 million ($6.67 million) if the offence results in death, Premier Jiang Yi-huah told reporters.
Fines for other food safety offences will also be raised tenfold.
Violators will face a maximum seven-year prison term rather than the current five years for lacing food with banned materials or falsifying ingredients, he said.
The punishment for such an offence resulting in death is life imprisonment since the government passed a tougher food safety law last year.
"Taiwan's reputation as a gourmet food kingdom has suffered big damage because of this food safety incident and we should all work together to get back on our feet. This will be a primary task of the cabinet this year," Jiang said.