A court in Taiwan has sentenced the son of a former legislator to more than two years in prison for his role in illegally supplying thousands of tons of fuel oil to North Korea.
The Kaohsiung District Court on Tuesday handed Huang Chung-wei a 28-month prison term, while five others were also given jail sentences.
According to the verdict, they were involved in loading fuel onto vessels in Taiwan and transferring it at sea in coordination with Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean businessman wanted by the United States who remains at large.
The court said the operation breached Taiwan’s Counter-Terrorism Financing Act and several other laws.
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Such ship-to-ship transfers are a key means for North Korea to secure fuel despite tough United Nations sanctions imposed on its nuclear and missile programs.
Although not a UN member due to pressure from China, Taiwan has pledged to comply with the global body’s sanctions on Pyongyang.
The case dates back to 2019, when Huang and Kwek allegedly purchased tankers, loaded them with fuel and carried out the transfers. U.S. intelligence agencies later tracked the shipments by satellite and tipped off investigators in Kaohsiung.
Huang’s father was previously a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. It remains unclear how much Huang profited from the scheme or whether he plans to appeal.
Source: Agency