Taiwanese pager agency Gold Apollo denied Wednesday any hyperlink to the exploding pagers in Lebanon, claiming Budapest-based BAC Consulting made them.
The New Taipei-based producer added it had solely licensed out its model to the corporate and was not concerned within the manufacturing of the gadgets.
At least 9 folks have been killed and practically 3,000 wounded when pagers utilized by Hezbollah members detonated concurrently throughout Lebanon on Tuesday.
According to a senior Lebanese safety supply and one other supply, explosives contained in the gadgets have been planted by Israel’s Mossad spy company.
Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters confirmed a format and stickers on the again that have been in line with pagers made by Gold Apollo.
“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” Gold Apollo founder and president, Hsu Ching-kuang, advised reporters on the firm’s places of work within the northern Taiwanese metropolis of New Taipei on Wednesday.
The firm mentioned in an announcement that the AR-924 mannequin was produced and offered by BAC.
Gold Apollo licensed “BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC,” the assertion mentioned.
‘Very unusual’
Reuters calls and emails to BAC on Wednesday morning weren’t answered.
Hsu mentioned earlier there had been issues with remittances from the agency.
“The remittance was very strange,” he mentioned, including that funds had come by means of the Middle East. He didn’t elaborate additional.
Hezbollah fighters started utilizing pagers within the perception they might be capable to evade Israeli monitoring of their places, two sources acquainted with the group’s operations advised Reuters this yr.
Hsu mentioned he didn’t understand how the pagers might have been rigged to blow up.
While Hsu was assembly with reporters, police officers arrived on the firm. Officials from Taiwan’s Economy Ministry additionally visited Gold Apollo.
The ministry mentioned in an announcement that there was no file of direct pager exports from Taiwan to Lebanon.
Hsu additionally mentioned Gold Apollo was a sufferer of the incident and deliberate to sue the licensee.
“We may not be a large company but we are a responsible one,” he mentioned. “This is very embarrassing.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com