Three people were indicted in Greater Taichung yesterday for their alleged roles in a deadly fire that engulfed a pub earlier this year.
Nine people were killed and 12 injured in an early-morning blaze at the ALA Pub in Greater Taichung on March 6, making it one of the nation’s deadliest fires in recent years.
During a performance, dancer Chu Chuan-yi (朱傳毅) had accidentally set fire to the ceiling of the pub with a torch, triggering the blaze at about 1:30am.
Greater Taichung Prosecutor Wu Tso-yen (吳祚延) announced yesterday that Chu and Wang Ming-che (王銘哲), the owner of the bar, were charged with accidental homicide by the Taichung District Court.
Wu said prosecutors were seeking a six-year prison sentence and a fine of NT$2 million (US$66,000) for Wang and three-and-a-half-years for Chu.
Chang Shang-yi (張尚義), an employee with the municipality’s government, was charged with corruption and faces five years in jail.
Wu said the pub was in violation of zoning regulations because it was operating in a residential district, and when the municipal government became aware of the violation in 2008, water and electricity supplies to the pub were stopped.
Wu said Wang then applied to have the services restored and hired a worker named Chiu Ching-fa (邱進發) to do the work.
Chang, who worked at the municipality’s Urban Development Department, oversaw the application and reportedly told an intermediary contact that Wang needed to pay him NT$5,000 to ensure water and electricity supplies would resume, which Wang allegedly did, Wu said.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
RSS