The Control Yuan said Friday it has censured the Kaohsiung City government and the Ministry of Interior for their lack of action that partially led to a deadly fire in 2021 that took 46 lives and demanded that they take corrective action.

The two authorities failed to do their jobs by not carrying out the necessary safety checks of the 40-year-old, 13-story Cheng Chung Cheng (???) building, exacerbating a fire started by a woman on Oct. 14, the Control Yuan said in a statement.

It required the city government to come up with more systematic solutions to building issues, and said the Ministry of Interior needed to do a better job of supervision and review its urban renewal plans to ensure public safety in high-risk areas, the statement said.

The Control Yuan is the branch of Taiwan’s government responsible for investigating and censuring public servants and agencies for inappropriate or illicit behavior, but only has limited powers for holding officials accountable for their misdeeds.

In its report on the fire, it said the Kaohsiung City government had overlooked safety issues in the mixed-used commercial/residential building and allowed 60 scooters to park illegally in an abandoned area on the first floor, which caused the fire to spread, the Control Yuan said.

The city government did not have property owners file safety reports or push for the establishment of a management committee comprised of residents to keep track of the building’s safety status, it said.

In addition, Kaohsiung City officials failed to exercise their authority to demand improvements, instead, simply issuing notification of violations without active follow-ups, according to the Control Yuan.

The Kaohsiung City government tried to prevent similar safety loopholes after the fire by conducting city-wide checks of old buildings, particularly those abandoned and in a state of disrepair, but the Control Yuan said the measure was not feasible due to complicated property and management issues.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel