Former SET TV host acquitted in wild animal importation case

Former SET TV host Lee Tian-yi and two others were acquitted on Tuesday of breach of faith for their involvement in arranging a deal to bring wild animals from Africa to a local zoo in Taiwan. The Taiwan Taipei District Court made the ruling, which can be appealed.

According to prosecutors, Lee acted as the main contact for Wanpi World Safari Zoo, which was looking to import giraffes and zebras from Africa. She was also listed as a director of Pacific Image Ltd., a company set up to facilitate the importation. Prosecutors alleged that Pacific Image artificially inflated the price of the animals in negotiating a $5.46 million contract, causing the zoo to lose $2.37 million. They claimed that Lee did not act in the best interests of the zoo, leading to the breach of faith charges.

However, the court ruled that Lee was not guilty because she did not have decision-making authority and was only responsible for passing information between the parties involved. The court stated that the decisions to sign the contract and then cancel the importation were made by SET Group Chairman and zoo owner Chang Rong-hua, not Lee.

In addition to Lee being acquitted, the court also cleared the other two individuals implicated in the case, including Lee’s husband and a businessman. The prosecutors‘ argument accusing Lee of playing both sides in the deal and not submitting the best prices for the animals to the zoo was dismissed by the court.

The case began when Chang took over a zoo in Tainan and sought Lee’s help to import African wildlife due to her connections in Africa from her TV program. Chang believed that Lee had secured the best price offer for the animals, leading to the signing of the contract with Pacific Image in 2020. However, Chang later decided to cancel the purchase after concerns were raised by animal rights groups in Taiwan.

Prosecutors alleged that the defendants asked for inflated prices for the animals, resulting in a loss of $2.37 million for the zoo while Lee and her husband made a profit of $250,000 from the deal. The court ruled that Chang forfeited the payment to Pacific Image when he canceled the importation and did not hold Lee and her partners responsible for the high markup on the animals.

Following the ruling, prosecutors stated that they would consider an appeal, while the TV company announced that they would seek an appeal as well. The case highlights the complexities of business dealings and the importance of transparency and ethical practices in such transactions.