The Tunghsing Building Self-help Association (東星大樓自救委員會) asked the Taipei City Government yesterday not to appeal a Taipei District Court ruling that the city has to pay approximately NT$480 million to the members of the association to compensate for losses caused by the 921 earthquake.
The Tunghsing Building was leveled by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999. Eighty-seven people were killed when the building collapsed.
Tiffany Lee (
They petitioned government officials to accept the verdict and spend more time on tightening security measures toward future construction projects and working out more regulations to protect human life.
The original lawsuit by the surviving residents demanded NT$1.5 billion in compensation from the city government.
According to the verdict by Judge Chen Po-wen (陳博文) of the Taipei District Court, the city government must pay NT$300,000 for every casualty that resulted from the collapse of the building.
In addition, the court ruled that each former Tunghsing resident can claim up to NT$340,000 for financial or property losses brought about by the quake.
Lee said that the association is not afraid to pursue the case if the city government decides to appeal.
"The court had mercy on us which we do appreciate. However, we are very disappointed with the Taipei City Government's attitude." she said.
"Officials did not spend any time examining themselves, working on weak regulations or trying to amend them. At this moment, what concerns them is whether to appeal."
Cheng Wen-lung (
"The city government has an annual budget of NT$160 billion. [It has enough money] to carry out inspections and to adequately supervise the issuance of licenses to contractors," he said.
"After 87 people died in a collapsed building, this issue should be one of the city government's top priorities. However, I'm sorry to say that I haven't seen any improvement over the past two years and eight months," Cheng said.
A local Chinese-language newspaper said on Tuesday that the city government will appeal the decision, but the Bureau of Public Works Commissioner William Chen (陳威仁) told the Taipei Times that the report was not accurate.
"We just received the verdict on May 10. We are still thinking about it [whether to appeal] and there won't be any decision until next week," he said.
He also said that he felt sorry about the petitioners' losses and added that the city government will do what it can to make up for its negligence such as amending building codes and checking on contractors to see if they are abiding by current regulations.
The Taipei City Government did not arrange to have a representative meet the petitioners but their petition was received and accepted by the city's public relations department.
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