Only two out of 20 establishments with rock-climbing or trampoline facilities passed a government safety inspection, the Executive Yuan’s Department of Consumer Protection said.
The two were T-Up Climbing Gym in Taipei and K2 Rock Climbing and Restaurant in Kaohsiung, consumer ombudsman Wang Te-ming (王德明) said.
While most of the regulatory breaches involved unsavory business practices, some of the venues were found to have unsafe and poorly maintained equipment, he said.
Four establishments have equipment that poses a serious safety hazard, such as having exposed or missing springs, cracked or missing frames, missing padding or Velcro that has lost its adhesiveness, he said.
The law forbids commercial venues with rock-climbing or trampoline facilities to make consumers sign liability waivers, but 12 of the venues breached that stipulation, Wang said.
Furthermore, two rock-climbing and two trampoline venues do not have mandatory accident insurance or underpaid their premiums, while three venues gave consumers coupons in contravention of regulations on business practices, he added.
The department issued warnings to the establishments for breaching the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), he said.
Should they fail to address the issues, the department can fine them between NT$60,000 and NT$1.5 million (US$1,937 and US$48,418 respectively) for each infraction, he said.
Three of the venues whose water fountains failed sanitary tests were fined between NT$1,000 and NT$10,000 fine under the Drinking Water Management Act (飲用水管理條例), Wang said.
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