The Hualien District Court on Tuesday sentenced three people involved in the construction of a residential building in Hualien City to five years in prison each for 14 deaths caused by the partial collapse of the building during an earthquake last year.
The court convicted the project’s developer, Liu Ying-lin (劉英麟), its architect, Yu Te-jung (游德榮), and its civil engineer, Chen Chen-hsiang (陳禎祥), on charges of negligent homicide.
The ruling can be appealed.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Hualien County at 11:50pm on Feb. 6 last year, with an intensity level of 7 — the highest on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale.
Seventeen people were killed when four buildings in the city partially collapsed, including 14 dead in the lower floors of the 12-story Yun Men Tsui Ti commercial and residential building, which also housed a restaurant and hotel.
Following a four-month investigation by Hualien prosecutors, the three were indicted on June 15 last year for flaws in the design, supervision and construction of the building.
Liu’s company is not a licensed developer and contractor, but still took charge of the construction project, prosecutors said.
Liu used another company’s license, employed Yu to design and oversee the construction, and asked Chen to sign a statement of structural engineering qualifications for the building, the prosecutors added.
The building was constructed using cheap and inferior materials, as Liu tried to reap large profits by keeping costs down, they said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS