President Ma Ying-jeou said on Tuesday that prosecutors are investigating to see if shoddy construction led to the collapse of the Weiguan Jinlong building in Tainan. The residential and shopping complex toppled during Saturday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake, killing at least 39 people. Authorities say that more than 100 others are believed to still be trapped in the building's rubble. President Ma said the truth of the situation must be made known to the public.
Tainan prosecutors on Tuesday asked the court’s permission to detain three former executives of the real estate company that built the fated building. As part of their investigation, prosecutors are seeking the detention of Lin Ming-hui, former chairman of the now-defunct Weiguan company, and former executives Chang Kui-an and Cheng Chin-kui, on charges of professional negligence resulting in loss of life.
Ma said that following the devastating Sept. 21 earthquake of 1999, the Taipei City Government conducted a comprehensive review of all the city’s buildings and made necessary reinforcements. He's called on the Ministry of the Interior to inspect and reinforce buildings throughout Taiwan to prevent such disasters in the future.