SAFETY:A DPP lawmaker said if fault is found with the Weiguan Jinlong complex, inspectors and regulators might be complicit in wrongdoing

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 16, 2016
By: Jonathan Chin / Staff writer

Civil servants who approved the construction and use permits for the Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan should share the blame alongside its developer for the structure’s collapse, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said on Sunday.

The 17-story, multi-building complex collapsed during the magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Feb. 6, eventually accounting for 114 of quake’s total of 116 fatalities.

Speaking on a political talk show, Wang said that the government only issues a construction permit for a project after the building’s blueprints have passed two separate reviews, one for safety and the other for aesthetics.

Prior to issuing a construction permit, the project is scrutinized in a safety review of the soundness of its structural mechanics, its weight distribution and depth, the thickness of steel rebars and the quality of materials, Wang said.     [FULL  STORY]