The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted 14 people and three companies over a fire that killed nine construction workers at a PX Mart processing center in Taichung in December last year.
Three of the defendants, surnamed Shih (施), Wu (吳) and Lin (林), were charged with causing death by an occupational accident due to violations involving required safety or sanitation equipment, prosecutors said in a statement.
Shih was an engineering executive at Chuan Lian Enterprise Co, while Wu represented Hu Yi Construction Co and Lin represented Taiwan Shinryo Co. Twelve of the suspects, including Shih, were indicted for negligent homicide.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
The three companies were charged with violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) and face fines, prosecutors said.
The fire occurred on Dec. 19 last year at a PX Mart facility being built. The construction project was contracted to Hu Yi and the cold-storage unit project to Shinryo.
Prosecutors said the first basement level had been lined with highly flammable extruded foam boards, while pipe openings and gaps between floors created major fire hazards.
Despite this, the companies failed to install legally required safety equipment and measures. Site management did not enforce hot-work procedures or adapt operations to ensure necessary protections, the office said.
On the day of the fire, Shinryo’s lead engineer instructed workers to cut a floor slab inside a pipe shaft using an acetylene torch without obtaining the required hot-work permit, in an effort to speed up construction, prosecutors said.
Workers began the cut without using a fire blanket to contain sparks, as required by regulations, and on-site safety patrollers did not intervene, prosecutors said.
Sparks fell through the pipe-shaft gaps onto the basement level and ignited the foam boards. The fire spread quickly and produced thick smoke, killing nine workers — seven Taiwanese and two Vietnamese, prosecutors said.
The indictments followed an investigation that included evidence collection, questioning witnesses and defendants, examination of contracts and construction plans and a review of the contracting structure and management responsibilities, the office said.
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