The Tainan District Court late on Tuesday night ordered the detention of property developer Lin Ming-hui (林明輝) and two associates, denying them bail as they face charges relating to the collapse of the Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康) following Saturday’s magnitude 6.4 earthquake.
“There is clear reason to be concerned that the accused will collude with each other and witnesses to the point that it will be difficult to resolve the case if they are not in custody,” Tainan District Court spokeswoman Kuo Chen-hsiu (郭貞秀) said.
The three men had used messaging software and friends to contact each other after the complex’s collapse, Kuo said.
Photo retaken by Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
They are to be denied visitors and other outside contact during detention to prevent the corruption of testimony, she said, adding that the statements they had given were mutually contradictory.
At least 90 people were still listed as missing from the quake, with 47 confirmed deaths at press time last night, as rescuers continued to pick through the rubble left behind by the complex, which formerly included four buildings up to 17 stories high.
The presence of empty cans and polystyrene foam inside some exposed pillars in the rubble has raised questions about whether shoddy workmanship was a factor in the collapse of the complex.
Kuo said there was clear evidence of possible construction defects, including a lack of circular reinforcements to pillars on the complex’s eastern side.
There was also conflicting testimony over whether the architect listed on the firm’s construction permit application had “lent” his license to another architect instead of personally supervising the construction, she said.
“We have discovered that the Weiguan Jinlong building was not designed by the signatory architect, Chang Kui-pao (張魁寶), who appears to have illegally lent his license to someone else to apply for the construction permit. In addition, blueprints of reinforcing rebars do not match structural calculations. Circular reinforcements for major pillars are less than half those listed in structural calculations, creating strong reason to believe the firm cut corners on materials,” Tainan Chief Prosecutor Chen Chien-hung (陳建弘) said, adding that the men would be charged with criminally negligent manslaughter.
Lin, who had reportedly served as board chairman of the now-defunct Weiguan Construction Co (維冠建設), was called in for questioning by prosecutors on Monday night, along with architects Chang and Cheng Ching-kuei (鄭進貴).
Lin has reportedly changed his name several times. He also founded at least two construction firms since Weiguan ceased operations in 1999, five years after the Weiguan Jinlong complex was completed.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily yesterday reported that he changed his name after he was kidnapped and held for ransom by associates of former Weiguan chief executive officer Tseng Ching-hsiang (曾錦祥) during the 1990s in a debt-related dispute.
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