A local court of Taiwan on Friday sentenced the owner of Pin Han Perfumery Co. to 13 years in jail on charges of fraud, as the company was found to be mixing toxic plasticizers into its products.

Chen Che-hsiung and his wife Wang Fen were given 13 years and ten years in jail, respectively, by the Banciao district court, while their two sons were found not guilty.

Chen and his wife have the option of appealing the verdict.

This May, Taiwan's health department found that the company was adding DINP, a toxic plasticizer, to the clouding agents which were used as food addictive in beverages, food and dietary supplements. Yu Shen Chemical Co., also a Taiwan company, was found to be using DEHP, another toxic plasticizer, in its own clouding agents.

The scandal has shocked the whole island, as nearly 1,000 products were involved, severely affecting the island's food and export industries.

Local prosecutors accused Pin Han Perfumery of illegally adding DINP to its clouding agents from August 2005 to May 2011 in order to reduce costs. The company sold the contaminated clouding agents to seven local food companies.

Local prosecutors completed their investigation in June and indicted Chen, his wife and their two sons on charges of fraud.

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