Taipei mayor points to Cashbox misconduct in fireBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporter, with CNATaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that a fire at a Cashbox Partyworld KTV on Taipei’s Linsen N Road on April 26 that resulted in six deaths was mainly due to the company’s misconduct. Ko again apologized for not fully protecting residents through the city’s fire safety inspections, before he and city officials gave a special report on the incident at the Taipei City Council yesterday morning. Taipei Fire Department Commissioner Wu Jun-hung, left, demonstrates how to wear a smoke protection mask next to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je during a report on the April 26 Cashbox Partyworld KTV fire at the Taipei City Council yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesFirst, it turned off the five major fire safety features: indoor fire hydrants, alarm systems, sprinklers, emergency broadcasting systems and smoke exhaust systems, he said. After the incident, the city conducted unscheduled fire safety inspections at many enclosed recreational facilities, and ordered those that failed to suspend operations, Ko said.

Allocating blame for Kaohsiung explosionsBy Chang Yen-ming 張炎銘In an admirable opinion piece in the Taipei Times, Aletheia University associate law professor Wu Ching-chin (吳景欽) addressed the ruling in the 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosion case by the court of second instance from the perspective of the ability of juristic persons to have criminal responsibility (“Culpability for 2014 gas explosions,” May 2, page 8). The responsibility of the top management can therefore be determined by whether their subordinates have reported maintenance needs. In the Kaohsiung gas explosion case, front-line workers and managers were responsible for maintaining the pipelines. There are detailed general maintenance manuals stipulating when operations should be halted due to low pressure and how often parts should be replaced. This raises a question: The pipeline that exploded in Kaohsiung had been in operation for more than 20 years — did the companies ever consider replacing it?

FSC warns banks on charging high processing feesRELIEF LOANS: Some banks are trying to get around the interest rate cap for loans to help firms affected by the pandemic by hiking other fees, a DPP legislator saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) would investigate banks that charge “unreasonably high handling fees” when approving loans to companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, FSC Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. “We will ask why the bank charged very high fees. Taipei Fubon’s high handling fee is a higher interest rate in disguise, she added. Taipei Fubon said in a statement later yesterday that it had clearly informed the borrower, one of its regular clients, about how it would charge handling fees and that the firm fully understood the terms. “The handling fee of NT$80,000 is too high, given an average handling fee of NT$5,000 for mortgages at most banks,” a bank executive told the Taipei Times on condition of anonymity.

Premier Su Tseng-chang speaks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesUnder a previous version of the program, those with a household income of less than 1.5 times the average minimum living cost in their city or county were eligible for a one-time payment of NT$30,000. About 150,000 fishers who have labor insurance and have a monthly salary of less than NT$24,000 and an annual income of less than NT$400,000 are eligible for a one-time payment of NT$30,000, Chen said. However, none of Taiwan’s more than 1 million farmers qualify for that payment, he added. Farmers and about 200,000 fishers who have farmers’ insurance or no insurance may apply for the NT$10,000 payment instead, Chen said.

The Taiwan Garrison Command, a secret police body, had reportedly questioned him for more than 12 hours the day before. From left, Transitional Justice Commission member Yeh Hung-ling, commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui and defense attorney Greg Yo attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. It added that the government had obstructed Chen’s family in their search for the truth. Citing friends of Chen, Yo said that someone attempted to push Chen out of the bus in front of the vehicle. At the time of Chen’s death, police had said that he was taken for questioning from 9pm to 9:30pm on the evening before his death and then driven home, Yo said.

Virus Outbreak: Taiwan produces high-quality medical gear to help world fight virus: ministryBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan is manufacturing certified and high-quality products to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, adding that many of the products have also secured certification in other countries. “The nation provides certified and effective disease-prevention products to the world. The bureau announced the launch of a virtual healthcare pavilion on the Taiwan External Trade Development Council’s (TAITRA) Web site (http://anti-epidemic.taiwantrade.com). Taiwan can export disease-prevention products, because the products and the facilities they are manufactured in meet health certification standards at home and in destination countries, Chen said. “As the world combats the spread of COVID-19, we want to contribute to the world by engaging in free trade.

Lawmakers call for tougher lawsINADEQUATE FINES: DPP Legislator Low Mei-ling said that fines are ‘very, very low,’ and some businesses can earn back the amount they paid in fines in ‘one night’By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterSeveral lawmakers yesterday called for tougher fire safety regulations after deadly blazes in Taipei and Kaohsiung raised concerns about fire safety. Lawmakers attending a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee questioned public officials over fire safety standards, with many calling for a review of regulations. From January to March, about 6,600 fires were reported nationwide, killing 48 people, Low said, citing National Fire Agency statistics. “I feel like every time we [wait until] something happens to review” the situation, DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) said. Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), who attended the meeting to answer lawmakers’ questions, urged businesses not to use fire safety equipment past their expiration dates.

Famed cardiologist loses five family members in blazeBy Chen Wen-chan and Fang Wen-hsien / Staff reportersFamed cardiologist Lai Wen-de (賴文德), the former director of Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, and his wife survived a fire yesterday in their five-story home in Kaohsiung, but their daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren died in the blaze. Firefighters heard Lai and his wife crying for help from the third floor and were able to rescue them, it said. A Kaohsiung firefighter in a cherrypicker basket tries to reach an upper story of the residence of cardiologist Lai Wen-de and his family yesterday morning. Lai Wei-an was a doctor at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, while her husband was a physician in Jiann Ren Hospital’s family medicine department. Lai Wen-de, had served as Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu’s (陳菊) attending physician after she suffered a mild stroke in 2007 while she was Kaohsiung mayor.

Overseas companies keen to bid for airport projectBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTwo construction firms from Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed an interest in building Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said yesterday. It would be the fourth time that the airport operator has put the project up for tender. The arrival hall at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 1 is pictured on April 15. Because of the scale of the project, construction firms would have to work with other contractors, the company said, adding that it is possible that a domestic construction firm might work with an overseas contractor. The firm revised the project for a second time by raising the total budget to about NT$95 billion.

Railway Police Bureau officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) was stabbed to death by a man surnamed Cheng (鄭) on July 3 last year. The front entrance of the Chiayi District Court in Chiayi County is pictured on Oct. 11 last year. Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei TimesThe Chiayi District Court on April 30 found Cheng not guilty in the case’s first ruling, as he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It ruled that he could be released on NT$500,000 bail and was ordered go undergo mental health treatment for five years. The judiciary made the utmost effort to consider evidence from both sides equally and to seek the truth, it said.

Virus Outbreak: Masks greatly limit spread: CECCPLAYING THE ODDS: A CECC official said that if healthy and infected people are wearing masks, their risk of viral transmission is reduced to about 1 to 2 percentBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterWearing masks greatly reduces the risk of spreading COVID-19, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said. “Many people have asked why several confirmed cases in Taiwan did not spread the virus to other people,” Chang said, pointing to an illustration depicting a healthy person and an infected person interacting in possible scenarios. Taiwan reported zero cases for six consecutive days ending on Friday, with three cases reported on Saturday. The numbers of daily confirmed cases indicate a similar trend, showing that the peak of reported cases was in mid-March, he said. Doctors’ clinical diagnoses of the first 100 confirmed cases show that the two most common symptoms were fever and coughing, he said.

KMT bills aim to amend Criminal CodePUBLIC SAFETY: Wan Mei-ling said that lengthy compulsory treatment would deter people from ‘faking a mental illness’ to avoid stiff punishment for crimes they commitBy Chen Yun / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲) yesterday said that she would sponsor a bill to amend the Criminal Code to mandate that people with mental disorders who have committed a felony undergo compulsory treatment for five to 10 years. On Friday, KMT Legislator Yeh Yu-lan (葉毓蘭) sponsored a draft amendment to the Criminal Code seeking to increase penalties for people who commit homicide, bodily harm or grievous bodily harm against law enforcement or medical personnel. Penalties for obstructing official duties stipulated in the Criminal Code and the Medical Care Act (醫療法) are too lenient and ineffective at protecting police and medical personnel from violence, she said. Article 271 of the Criminal Code stipulates that people who have committed homicide should receive a prison term of at least 10 years, life imprisonment or the death penalty, while those guilty of attempted murder face a prison term of up to two years. Article 278 of the Criminal Code stipulates that people who inflict grievous bodily harm on others face a prison term of between five and 12 years, while those who inflict grievous bodily harm that results in death face a prison term of at least 10 years or life imprisonment.

The building is to be converted into a memorial for Tai after a motion to preserve it was on Friday unanimously passed by the department’s 17-member cultural heritage committee. The building, which is on property owned by National Taiwan University (NTU), where Tai was a faculty member, would not be quietly destroyed by the school, NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) told a news conference at the school to allay public concerns. Tai originally lived in another Japanese-style building on the campus, but was later required to move for administrative purposes. However, the original building Tai lived in has already been demolished, the university said. Tai’s former residence is not only a building, but an asset belonging to all Taiwanese, an NTU Student Association representative told the cultural heritage committee meeting.

Same-sex unions top 3,500 in year since legalizationStaff writer, with CNATaiwan recorded more than 3,500 same-sex marriages as of the end of March, nearly one year after legislation legalizing same-sex marriage took effect, the Ministry of the Interior said on Friday. A total of 3,553 same-sex couples had registered their marriages as of the end of March, with New Taipei City recording the largest number of same-sex unions among the nation’s six special municipalities at 722, ministry data showed. Of the 3,553 same-sex marriages, 1,122 were male couples and 2,431 were female. After New Taipei City, Taipei was second with 582 same-sex unions, followed by Kaohsiung with 473, Taichung with 423, Taoyuan with 347 and Tainan with 234, it said. Outside of the six special municipalities, Pingtung County took first place with 110 same-sex unions, followed by Hsinchu City with 85, and Hsinchu County and Hualien County with 84 each, the data showed.

Students wear masks and have their body temperatures taken yesterday before entering the Taipei venue where they will take the Technological and Vocational Education Entrace Examination. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesThe findings indicated that the infection rate was higher among contacts whose exposure to index cases started within five days of the onset of symptoms than those who were exposed later. Contacts with exclusive pre-symptomatic exposure were also at risk, the paper said. The infection rate was higher among household and non-household family contacts than in healthcare or other settings, the paper said, adding that the rate was also higher among those aged 40 or older. “We can now make the judgement that a few days before and a week after the onset of symptoms is the period of highest transmission for COVID-19,” Cheng said.