The Supreme Court yesterday rejected appeals by defendants in the Weiguan Jinlong building case in which more than 100 people died after the housing complex collapsed during the 2016 Tainan earthquake.
The court also upheld the sentences for the five defendants of five years in prison and a fine of NT$90,000 each.
The five are Weiguan Corp owner Lin Ming-hui (林明輝); architects Chang Kuei-pao (張魁寶) and Cheng Chin-kuei (鄭進貴); Weiguan design department’s Hung Hsien-han (洪仙汗); and structural engineer Cheng Tung-hsu (鄭東旭).
The Weiguan Jinlong housing complex in Tainan collapsed during a magnitude 6.6 quake on Feb. 6, 2016, resulting in the death of 115 people, while 104 sustained injuries and more than 200 people were rendered homeless.
It was one of the worst man-made disasters in the nation’s history.
Yesterday’s ruling was final and cannot be appealed.
Victims and their families had asked for more severe punishment as the disaster resulted in more than 100 deaths.
However, the charges of “homicide through professional negligence” carried a maximum prison term of five years only.
Following the High Court’s ruling in July last year, all the defendants, except for Lin, filed appeals to either overturn the guilty conviction or receive a lighter sentence.
The four defendants argued that they were not responsible for the disaster because they merely followed Lin’s instructions and that the structural failure was due to alterations to the original architectural plan.
Chang also argued that the construction of the building started in 1992, and as such, had exceeded the 20-year period as statute of limitations for criminal prosecution.
Investigators found that the building was poorly designed and built, and that inferior materials were used to save costs.
They said that Lin had ordered Hung to minimize costs during the design and planning stages, and to use fewer than the required number of reinforcements for beam column joints and to reduce the size of some pillars to further cut costs.
The combination of negligence and cost-cutting led to the collapse of the building, investigators said, citing flaws and load-bearing calculation errors in the original design and later alterations that contributed to the building’s structural weaknesses.
The two architects had helped the company acquire construction certification and other documents without properly supervising the construction work, the investigators added.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS