Construction firm owner indicted in deadly Hualien quake collapse case

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Prosecutors have indicted a construction company owner on charges of negligent homicide for flaws in a building erected by the firm that partially collapsed in a major earthquake in Hualien County last year and led to a person's death.

The Uranus building was found to have multiple construction and design deficiencies, including poor seismic resistance, which caused its first-floor columns to give way during the magnitude-7.2 quake on April 3, 2024, the Hualien District Prosecutors Office said in a statement Tuesday.

A resident surnamed Kang (康) first made it out safely, but was trapped when she returned to the building minutes later to fetch her cat as an aftershock caused it to shift. Debris collapsed onto her, crushing her chest and causing fatal traumatic asphyxiation.

According to prosecutors, the construction company head, surnamed Chen (陳), selected a plot of land in Hualien City in 1984 on which to build a nine-story building with a basement.

He then hired an architect, surnamed Tsao (曹), to serve as the project's designer and supervisor, and a civil engineer, also surnamed Chen, to carry out the structural calculations, which Tsao then certified.

Prosecutors alleged that those calculations significantly underestimated the building's weight and earthquake resistance, leaving the first-floor beams and columns inadequately reinforced and the building vulnerable to a major earthquake.

Prosecutors also alleged that the construction firm owner failed to properly supervise construction and inspect the site, resulting in column stirrups spaced too far apart and main reinforcement beams that were too short.

Those oversights reduced the effective strength of the rebar used in the building by about 30 percent, weakening the building's structure and earthquake resistance, according to prosecutors.

The three individuals involved, and the construction firm's manager Hsieh (謝), were all found responsible for the building's oversight, the prosecutors' office said.

Only Chen was indicted, however, as Hsieh and the civil engineer have both since died and Tsao, the architect, is still wanted by authorities. Chen's age was not immediately known.

Prosecutors said Chen, as the head of the construction firm, neglected his duties in managing the company's building operations, resulting in major construction defects.

His failures also undermined safety oversight mechanisms, leading to the death of the victim and leaving hundreds of residents homeless.

Chen denied wrongdoing after the incident and blamed the now-deceased manager Hsieh and others for the incident, showing no remorse, prosecutors said, leading them to recommend that the court hand him a heavy sentence when it reviews the case.