Posted on 02/09/2016 9:05:33 AM PST by BenLurkin
Three people were arrested Tuesday, Xiao Bo-ren, the Tainan government's legal affairs secretary, told CNN. All are former executives of the real estate development company that built Tainan's 17-story Weiguan Golden Dragon tower, which collapsed when the magnitude-6.4 tremor hit early Saturday.
Lin Ming-hui, former chairman of the now defunct Weiguan company, and two other former executives -- Chang Kui-an and Cheng Chin-kui -- face charges of professional negligence resulting in death.
The ruins of the toppled high-rise are the most visible evidence of the massive quake, which killed at least 40 people in the normally quiet city of 1.9 million people, according to the Tainan City Disaster Response Center. Four days later, more than 100 people remained missing.
...
Central News Agency reported that "jerry-building" -- cheap or flimsy construction -- "is believed to be one of the causes of the collapse."
Images that have surfaced of tin cans believed to be used in the construction of the tower have caused city residents to speculate about whether the building company cut corners when the high-rise went up.
"There are so many other older buildings in Tainan that are still standing. Why was it only this building that was completely destroyed?" asked Wang Xingyou, a city cab driver.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The photos show empty tin cans placed inside the concrete floors, wall, and foundations. No rebar inside the walls.
That way, they can pour a foundation while using less concrete. Most other buildings in the same neighborhood stayed up.
If they were on the Mainland, they would have already been executed.
Last night, NHK World television said that the concrete support pillars in the building did not even have rebar. I think this kind of problem is probably much more prevalent in mainland China.
whoops...
if they deliberately built a faulty foundation, i wouldn’t mind.
Seems like it’s impossible to prosecute here, especially if a corporation is involved.
But i could be wrong.
Noting that a car company knowingly let defective ignitions stay on the road, resulting in deaths, and not only does no one go to jail, but they dont want to pay any penalties because they were under bankruptcy protection at the time, nauseates me.
I Detroit they use missing union bosses. Seems to work well.
Has Sum Ting Wong or Holi Fuk issued a statement yet?
If built by a Chinese construction company, for sure. If a Singapore company or other Western company applying proper construction oversight, the buildings will be to standard - world standard.
These guys were well-known locally. Nobody who lived nearby and was familiar with their business methods would buy an apartment in this building.
Seems most earthquakes in China uncover lots of newspaper in the concrete.
The paint cans are a new one.
I do not see a problem here. Those are certified load bearing tin cans.
!
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