The Taoyuan District Court yesterday sentenced the proprietor of a bowling alley to six years, 10 months in prison for negligence leading to a 2015 blaze that killed six firefighters.
Liu Te-pin (劉得斌), 48, was convicted of negligence in maintaining the three-story building in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋) and breaches of fire safety codes.
The court found him guilty of breaching Article 35 of the Fire Services Act (消防法) for failure to provide and maintain fire safety equipment, which led to death from a fire, the ruling said.
As it was the first ruling, it can be appealed.
Six Taoyuan firefighters died in the Jan. 20, 2015, blaze when the sheet-metal roofing of the building collapsed.
Liu, who took over the bowling alley in 2013, “did not follow the law on regular inspection and maintenance of safety measures,” which caused faulty electrical wires to ignite, the ruling said, adding that Liu’s failure to properly maintain the structure had contributed to the circumstances that caused the firefighters’ deaths.
An investigation found that the building’s fire alarms and emergency lighting system failed to function, enabling the blaze to rapidly burn out of control.
During the trial, Liu’s lawyer argued that the work of firefighters was inherently dangerous, and said that Liu had made improvements after regular checks by fire inspectors.
However, prosecutors said that inspection documents listed various deficiencies and equipment defects, which were not remedied.
Two city inspectors and six fire department officials were also charged in relation to the incident, as an investigation showed that inspectors reportedly knew the building was an illegal structure that should have been razed, but still allowed it to pass fire safety inspections.
Although prosecutors had charged them with falsifying government records and colluding to benefit Liu, the court did not convict them, citing insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated