President Xi Jinping conveyed his condolences to victims of the recent Taiwan quake as rescuers scour the wreckage for survivors of a collapsed apartment building in Tainan. (Photo : REUTERS)
Lin Ming-hui, the developer of the collapsed 17-storey Wei-Guan Golden Dragon Building, was arrested on Monday by Taiwan prosecutors on suspicion of negligent homicide. At least 39 people died on Saturday when the magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook Taiwan.
Majority of the victims were residents of Wei-Guan which investigators found to have used tin cans as construction material to reinforce cement. But because the building, one of the two edifices that completely collapsed, was completed in 1994, the developer escape liability because the Taiwan government prohibited the use of tin cans only in September 1999.
Reuters reported that the lower floors of the building was filled with shop. When the lower floors collapsed on top of each other, the whole U-shaped complex toppled on the lower floors.
Besides Ling, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office said that two other executives of the developer are also suspects for professional negligence resulting in death. The two, Chang Kui-an and Cheng Chin-kui, and Lin were summoned by prosecutors on Monday. A hearing on the charges continue to be held as of late Tuesday, reported ABC.
But it seems it not the collapsed building that Lin has to face because Taiwanese broadcasters said that Lin had changed his name after he had a bankruptcy but afterward run other companies.
As of Tuesday night, the death toll has risen to 41 people, although it is believed that more than 100 are still trapped in the rubble, according to Tainan Deputy Mayor Tang Shu-cheng.
