On the first anniversary of the 921 earthquake, residents and builders of the Doctors' Home (
The settlement is the first of its kind and is expected to create a precedent for the resolution of a large number of legal cases stemming from the quake.
One out of the three buildings at the complex, built by the Ho-chang (
An investigation found that Ho-chang was not in fact a licensed construction company and should not have been allowed to build the complex. Shoddy construction work was found to have been the cause of the collapse.
Following the disaster, the non-governmental Consumers' Foundation (
The foundation filed the nation's first-ever class litigation lawsuit last October on behalf of families of the dead and the injured residents seeking damages -- general and punitive -- of over NT$2 billion. In the ensuing period, the foundation and the builder continued talks to try and reach a settlement.
It was not until yesterday, however -- when both parties signed a written agreement -- that the former residents of the Doctors' Home finally felt assured of compensation and to be able to start rebuilding their lives in the wake of the tragedy.
"Honestly speaking, it's not a satisfactory result. But involvement in the negotiations placed such extreme stress on the families [of the dead and injured], that we would rather have reached this compromise to put an end to this lengthy and tiring process," said Su Chin-shia (蘇錦霞), secretary-general of the Consumers' Foundation.
According to the settlement, each family of the 45 dead will receive NT$5.1 million and each family of the 28 injured will receive NT$600,000. The builder also handed over a check for NT$180 million to the foundation during negotiations on the night of Sept. 19.
Nevertheless, both parties have so far failed to reach agreement on compensation for property damage, and talks are continuing on this matter.
Apart from the civil proceedings, the builder and another 12 people involved in the construction of the apartment complex have also been indicted on charges of manslaughter and/or forgery.
In May this year, just days before the Panchiao District Court handed down its verdict, the builder had agreed to pay a total of over NT$600 million in compensation for the dead and injured, as well as for property and building losses.
However, the builder went back on his word about the compensation when, in June, he received a seven-year sentence for his negligence in the building of the apartment complex.
Dissatisfied with the district court ruling, the prosecution has filed an appeal with the Taiwan High Court.
From Tuesday night, both parties had been negotiating to try and reach a settlement, attempting to come to a compromise by the one year anniversary of the earthquake.
The settlement was finally reached yesterday in the presence of Taipei County Commissioner Su Chen-chang (蘇貞昌), who has played the role of mediator throughout the negotiations.
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