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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique