Taipei Times
Date: Feb 09, 2016
By: Yimou Lee / Reuters
Before the Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康)
Excavators with demolition shears stand by to assist with the rescue operation yesterday at the site of the collapsed Weiguan Jinlong apartment complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District. Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
collapsed in the earthquake before dawn on Saturday, a young couple living on the 14th floor had already been given a clue that the building was unsafe.
However, it came too late.
Chen Yi-ting and her husband bought the apartment five years ago. They had a small hiccup with the mortgage — the first bank they approached had declined their loan application without stating why — but they found another lender and moved in with their infant daughter.
Soon after, according to Chen’s mother, one of the couple’s friends, who had ties to the first bank, told them that it had a policy of refusing loans to residents of the 17-story building due to its poor construction. [FULL STORY]
