Gold Apollo, a Taiwan-based company that manufactures pagers, refuted allegations of making the explosive-filled wireless gadgets used in bombings throughout Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of at least nine individuals and injuries to almost 3,000 others.
The devices used in the explosions on Tuesday were manufactured by a company based in Budapest called BAC, which is authorized to use the brand name of the Taiwan company, according to the company.
Company president says devices had ‘our brand on it’
Speaking to journalists at the Gold Apollo’s headquarters in New Taipei City, Hsu Ching-Kuang, the company’s founder and president, stated that the product does not belong to them. “It was solely marked with our brand”.
“We may not be a large company, but we are a responsible one. This is very embarrassing,” news agency Reuters quoted Hsu as saying. The company leader emphasized that he had no information on how the pagers were set up with explosives.
Also read: 9 killed, 2,750 injured in pager explosions in Lebanon; Hezbollah vows to retaliate against Israel
According to a Reuters report, police showed up at the New Taipei offices when Hsu was in a meeting with reporters.
Gold Apollo stated they authorised BAC to use their brand trademark
In line with Hsu’s comments, Gold Apollo also stated that they have given BAC permission to utilize their brand trademark for selling products in specified areas under the cooperation agreement, while the product design and manufacturing is entirely BAC’s responsibility.
Following reports from a Lebanese security source to Reuters news agency, it was revealed that Hezbollah, backed by Iran, had purchased 5,000 pagers from Gold Apollo.
The origin pinpointed the AP924 variant as the model of the detonated pager. Pictures of the broken pagers also showed a design and decals on the rear that matched those made by Gold Apollo. The Taiwanese manufacturer stated that BAC produced and sold the AR-924 model.
Hezbollah fighters are using pagers as a basic way to communicate and avoid being tracked by Israel.
Pager blasts in Lebanon killed 9 people, injured 3,000
On Tuesday, a series of explosions occurred simultaneously in Lebanon and parts of Syria, involving Pagers, wireless communication devices utilized by many members of Hezbollah.
Approximately 100 explosions were also reported in Syria.
