BEIJING, Sept 18 (Bernama-Sputnik) -- Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese pager manufacturer, has denied responsibility for the pagers that recently exploded in Lebanon.
CEO Hsu Chin-Kuang clarified that the devices in question were produced by a European company and are unrelated to Gold Apollo's products, reported Sputnik.
Reuters reported earlier in the day that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had planted a small amount of explosives in 5,000 pagers ordered from Gold Apollo by Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
"The pagers were both developed and produced abroad, so they have nothing to do with Taiwan," the director was quoted as saying by Taiwanese news portal CTWANT.
He also said that about three years ago, Gold Apollo signed a cooperation agreement with a European company, which at first was only involved in distributing Gold Apollo products, but later began independently developing the pagers involved in the blasts.
On Tuesday, pager detonations took place in different parts of Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that the blasts had killed 11 people and left more than 4,000 injured.
Media reported that pagers are often used by Hezbollah members as a covert communication system that is least susceptible to hacking.
The cause of the detonations is not yet known. The Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of being responsible for the incident.
--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
