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Earthquake leaves homeowners with shattered dreams

Nine-year-old Liu Yu-tong removes the portrait of her younger sister from her mother's bedroom in the Chenchiang Palace apartment complex in Wufeng which was destroyed in the Sept. 21 earthquake. Residents of the complex say the building collapsed because of sloppy construction work and unscrupulous builders who strayed from blueprints to save money. PHOTO: AP

Looking up at his shattered fifth floor apartment, Chen Han-chin (3¯º~«l) recalls the pride of home ownership with a smile and a sigh.

"When we moved here it was the biggest, fanciest apartment building in town," the retired father of two said, standing amid fallen pink marble facades and cracked plaster Grecian statuary.

The glamor days of the building are gone, turned to dust by the 921 earthquake.

Residents of the complex, called the Chenchiang (|Ú|K¬Ó®c) Palace, say the building collapsed because of sloppy construction work and unscrupulous builders who strayed from blueprints to save money.

Such accusations are rife as residents and prosecutors embark on the daunting task of seeking to hold builders responsible for shoddy work exposed by the quake. Almost daily, residents march in the streets in the hardest-hit cities in central Taiwan, demanding justice and compensation.

So far, slightly more than 200 builders, architects and consulting engineers are being investigated for alleged improprieties that could have led to building damage and collapses.

Among those on the government's list is Liao Ming-yu, the chief of the construction company that built the Chenchiang Palace. The builder has been barred from leaving Taiwan.

Many of the apartment complex's 197 households have sued Liao for violating safety standards, and he has fired back with a lawsuit accusing the residents of defamation.

Liao's construction company, has refused to help residents move and resettle, concessions made to quake victims by at least two other firms.

The builder did not respond to a request for an interview made at his new company, Yikuang Construction.

His employees, who would not give their names, described their boss as a self-made businessman in his 40s from nearby Taichung. In addition to heading his original firm and Yikuang, Liao owns shares in at least two other construction companies, they said.

Cutting corners is common on Taiwanese construction sites, where building codes are not rigorously enforced, said Liu Mei-hua (¼B¬üµØ), a sales representative for Fuchen Construction company (´I±á«Ø3]) in the central town of Tali near the quake's epicenter.

Falling profit margins caused by a slumping real estate market put pressure on companies to cut costs, especially smaller firms with fewer resources, said Liu, who has worked in the field for 19 years.

Builders also frequently open new companies to avoid taxes, and to keep one step ahead of home buyers who might lodge complaints years after they purchase their homes, Liu said.

Picking through the rubble in the Chenchiang Palace's courtyard, former resident Wang Chyi-shiang (?y´µX2») points to what he calls obvious evidence that Liao's builders ignored construction codes.

Reinforced iron bars weren't bundled properly or embedded in concrete, says Wang, a plant manager for a local beverage company.

Supporting outer walls were smashed through to enclose balconies as part of the inner space, further weakening the structure, he says. Balconies were enclosed to form additional rooms.

Inspectors have yet to confirm the violations, although Wang said US and Japanese engineers have already told residents that there were clear breaches of building codes.

For many residents who are strapped with 20-year mortgages on homes that are now piles of rubble, even petty violations must be unearthed to support a case for compensation.

"I can't even contemplate my future," said Wang, who is now renting an apartment. "I just know I have to keep working to pay back my debts, provide us somewhere to live and keep the kids in school."
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