Prosecutor Tseng Ting-Wei of this Office directed the Third Brigade of the Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with the Central Region Environmental Management Center of the Environmental Management Administration, Ministry of Environment, in investigating a case involving the dumping of waste plastic mixtures on multiple parcels of land in Zaoqiao Township, Miaoli County.

The investigation was concluded on March 27, 2026. Five defendants, including a defendant surnamed Huang, were indicted for offenses including illegal disposal of waste and providing land for waste dumping in violation of the Waste Disposal Act. Another eight defendants, including a defendant surnamed Hu, were granted deferred prosecution, subject to payment of specified deferred prosecution fines within a prescribed period.

Two defendants surnamed Huang leased multiple parcels of land and corrugated iron factory buildings located thereon in Zaoqiao Township, Miaoli County (hereinafter referred to as the “factory premises”), and provided the site for the storage and dumping of industrial waste. Three defendants, including one surnamed Lai, between June 2022 and January 2023, accepted waste plastic mixtures—including discarded leather and sponge materials from automobile seats—at a fee of up to NT$100,000 per truckload. These materials were delivered by enterprises operated by defendants surnamed Hu, Lee, and Chang, including Bei○ Industrial Co., Xin○ Enterprise Co., ○Mai Industrial Co., Ltd., and ○Mao Environmental Protection Co., Ltd.

A total of 77 truckloads of waste (including 52 large industrial bags filled with waste plastic mixtures) were dumped within the factory premises, covering an area of approximately 2,198 square meters and weighing about 1,500 metric tons. Some defendants had already voluntarily removed approximately 1,223 metric tons of the waste.

Among the indicted defendants, this Office considered the criminal circumstances of defendants surnamed Huang and Lee particularly serious because they provided land for the dumping of large quantities of industrial waste on four separate occasions. Defendant Lai was involved in brokering the illegal disposal of industrial waste on two occasions. Accordingly, this Office requested sentences of imprisonment of no less than two years and six months for each offense committed by these defendants, and further petitioned the court to confiscate NT$2 million in illegal proceeds obtained by defendant Lai.

In investigating environmental and national land protection cases, this Office consistently adopts a strict enforcement approach. Through inter-agency cooperation, prosecutors rigorously investigate organized environmental crimes and actively trace the sources of illegal activities in order to implement the policies of the Ministry of Justice and the “Action Plan for Prosecutorial Agencies to Combat National Land Conservation and Environmental Crimes” issued by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, thereby demonstrating its determination to combat environmental crimes.