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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Owner cleared in quake collapse
RESPONSIBILITY: An investigation showed that a partition wall of the Weiguan Jinlong complex’s ground floor had been removed before it was acquired in 2003
By Lin Meng-ting / Staff reporter
Prosecutors yesterday said the owner of a ground-floor apartment in the Weiguan Jinlong complex in Tainan’s Yongkang District （永康）, which collapsed in an earthquake on Feb. 6, was not responsible for removing partitions and load-bearing structures, which was speculated to have contributed to the collapse.
The owner, who prosecutors identified only by her family name, Lan （籃）, was accused by complex residents of undertaking extensive renovations on the building’s first and second floors, removing partitions, shear walls and beams, so that she could leased it out to an electronics outlet, which damaged the structural integrity of the building and contributed to the collapse that killed 116 people.
The Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday summoned Lan and her son for questioning. After examining the complex’s original blueprints, Lan’s purchase documents, the store floor plan and fire safety plan, prosecutors concluded that “Lan did not carry out any large-scale structural modification work,” a report published by the Chinese-language Apple Daily said.
An appraisal of the property stated that the foreclosed property was already without a partition when Lan purchased it in a bank auction in 2003, prosecutors said.
Ownership of the complex’s first through fourth floors was transferred from the property’s developer, Lin Ming-hui （林明輝）, to Lan after Lin declared bankruptcy.
The prosecutors’ office said it would commission the city’s civil engineers association to assess whether there was significant modification at the property and the effect any modifications could have had on the building’s collapse, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, Lan’s daughter yesterday said: “It is not fair that we [the Lan family] were accused of being guilty without a trial.”
“We were not unwilling to come forward to clarify things, but we did not want to put the matter under the spotlight and interrupt the search-and-rescue operation,” said Lan’s daughter, who ran the family business.
The family had to request property documents from a bank and the court, as the property was bought at a foreclosure auction many years ago, but banks and the court were closed during the Lunar New Year holiday, she said.
Lan was emotional after the collapse, but she was able to find the property’s appraisal with a floor plan and delivered all documents to prosecutors, Lan’s daughter said, adding that they planned to make a public announcement this week, but decided to postpone it until after the investigation was concluded.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
