Man in central Taiwan detained for running illegal rice wine factory

中台灣男子因涉嫌經營非法釀酒工廠而遭拘留

Confiscated products from the Taichung operation were valued at NT$240,000


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- On Sunday Taichung police raided a local warehouse which, they found, was operating as an illegal rice wine factory. The owner surnamed Pai (白) was arrested as a result of the raid.

According to authorities, the owner said that he was just catering to the local demand for rice wine, as the weather is getting colder and the demand for the wine is much higher than usual.

Local police along with the Taichung Finance Bureau's Tobacco and Alcohol Management Division orchestrated the raid, detained Pai and confiscated all the equipment and materials used for making the alcohol.

The authorities also seized 1,208 liters of finished rice wine product and 2,880 liters of unfinished product during the raid. The total finished and unfinished products are estimated to be valued at NT$240,000.

The 57-year old owner also claimed that he only uses genuine quality resources to produce the rice wine, adding that there was nothing fake used in his production process. He insisted that his products were equal to other legal products, as reported by the Liberty Times.

"The cost of my wine production is about NT$40 per bottle, which I sell for NT$60," Pai was quoted by the authorities.

"The weather is so cold this week, and with the Lunar New Year holidays coming up, there is a big demand for rice wine," Pai continued.

Originally working as a warehouse manager in Taoyuan, Pai said he took some time off from his job to return to Taichung, his hometown, to make rice wine.

The officers were tipped off several months ago about the illegal factory and the rice wines being prepared, but decided to keep the factory under its radar to track the operations of the facility.