Operator of deadly fire factory fined for safety breaches

Taipei, Feb. 7 (CNA) The Taoyuan City Government Office of Labor Inspection on Friday imposed fines on Far Eastern New Century Corp., the operator of a factory that caught fire the previous day, killing two.

The company was fined a total of NT$260,000 (US$7,940) for 14 inadequacies in safety-related measures in the five business units that it owns in Taoyuan, the office said.

These include failure to install explosion-proof equipment in flammable areas, misplacement of natural gas pipe detectors, and failure to install static-eliminating devices on pipe flanges.

As these breaches may result in a fire or explosion, the company was fined and ordered to improve within a deadline, in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the office said.

The office said it dispatched personnel to the five business units that the company owns in Taoyuan for comprehensive inspections on Friday.

According to the office's data, the company's sites in Taoyuan have been fined four times between 2017 and 2019 for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act, paying a total of NT$240,000 in penalties.

Early Thursday morning, the company's chemical fiber factory in Hsinchu County broke out in flames, killing two and injuring another 19.

The Hsinchu County Government Fire Bureau said Thursday that the fire may have resulted from leakage of kerosene from high-pressure pipelines.

The site was ordered to suspend operations by the county to prevent further damage that day.