Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/02/26
By: Liu Shih-yi and Elizabeth Hsu
Taipei, Feb. 26 (CNA) Petrochemical producer LCY Chemical Corp. (李長榮化工), which
(CNA file photo)
was involved in a series of gas explosions that killed 32 people in Kaohsiung in 2014, has lost an administration lawsuit to hold on to three safety management certificates.
In its ruling, the Taipei High Administration Court found that LCY not only failed to include the Factory Management Act among the laws it had its employees follow but also failed to maintain, repair and conduct the necessary safety checks of its underground pipelines that it had acquired 30 years earlier.
That negligence led to the deterioration of its chemical transmission pipelines and eventually caused gas explosions that left 32 deaths and 321 injuries, the court said.
Because of the severe damage cause by the blast, the court ruled against LCY in its suit against an order by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to invalidate the company’s safety certifications.
