Hualien prosecutors have launched a probe into possible negligence in the construction of four buildings that collapsed or tilted during an earthquake that struck the city late on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and injuring 260.
Hualien Chief Prosecutor Huang Ho-chun (黃和村) has instructed officials to obtain the buildings’ blueprints, documents and data files submitted by construction companies to the Hualien County Government for the initial phase of the investigation.
The probe is to focus on the Marshal Hotel (統帥大飯店), the Yun Men Tsui Ti (雲門翠堤大樓) commercial and residential complex and two partially collapsed residential buildings on Hualien’s Guosheng 6th street, where the efforts to find survivors have concentrated.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“After the rescue efforts are completed, we will subpoena the constructors, the architects and the contractors [involved in the construction of the four buildings] for questioning,” Huang said.
Prosecutors would conduct a thorough investigation to determine if there was negligence or infractions — such as taking shortcuts during construction, using inferior building materials or failing to comply with construction regulations or acquire government approval — that might have led to the buildings’ collapse, Huang said.
Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Wang Tien-sheng (王添盛) said he contacted Huang to provide assistance in gathering evidence at the four buildings as part of the initial phase of investigation, adding that prosecutors in nearby districts can be dispatched to Hualien to join the investigation.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Taipei prosecutors also announced that they would provide support in technical and legal issues.
“In our Taipei office, we have 11 prosecutors with professional background and expertise in civil engineering and construction. They have been put on alert and will be dispatched to Hualien to provide support for the investigation into possible negligence and the legal responsibilities regarding the buildings’ collapse,” Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Chou Shih-yu (周士榆) said.
Tai Yun-fa (戴雲發), head of a construction safety association, said the Yun Men Tsui Ti and the hotel were susceptible to earthquake damage because they had too few reinforced pillars at the lower levels, causing them to be “heavy at the top, but weak at the bottom.”
The original designs for the two buildings were likely flawed in terms of pillar support at lower levels and were not designed to resist a strong earthquake, as they were built before 1999, when a more comprehensive and strict building code came into effect, and no reinforcements had been made since, Tai said.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS