The High Court yesterday said it has rejected an interlocutory appeal for Tainan developer Lin Ming-hui (林明輝), with the judges ruling not to free Lin from detention by citing the possibility of collusion of testimony and tainting of evidence by him and other suspects in the case.
The Taiwan High Court’s Tainan branch spokesman Sheng Yang-jen (沈揚仁) said that after the district court granted a request by prosecutors that Lin be detained and held incommunicado, Lin’s lawyers filed for an interlocutory appeal.
As the owner of Weiguan Construction Co (維冠建設), Lin is the developer responsible for the Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan, which collapsed when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck on Feb. 6.
One more body was found in the basement on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 115 for the collapsed building.
Investigators said they found evidence of the use of substandard materials and other major defects in the construction of the complex.
Prosecutors said the investigation had found that an insufficient number of iron rebars were used in the building’s reinforced concrete columns, with the number of rebar pieces decreasing and getting thinner from the bottom floors to upper floors.
It was also found that the interlocking arrangement of the concrete columns’ vertical rebars, stirrups, corner bars, offset bends and other pieces were not done in accordance with the required engineering standards.
Investigators also found discrepancies between the building’s structural calculation figures submitted to government agencies and the blueprints of the building’s steel and column support reinforcement, which prosecutors said indicated the actual amount of steel and iron rebar pieces used was 50 percent less than the figures officially submitted.
There were also irregularities in the building’s design and architectural process, prosecutors said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
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