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        Taiwan Developer Arrested in Collapse of Earthquake-hit Building

   by VOA News

   Police in Taiwan have arrested the developer of a 17-story apartment
   building in the city of Tainan that collapsed during last Saturday's
   powerful earthquake, killing 40 people.

   Lin Ming-hui has been charged on suspicion of negligent homicide, due
   to questions about the methods and materials in the construction of the
   Weigun Golden Dragon complex that were raised after photos surfaced of
   tin cans and foam built into the walls of the complex.  An arrest
   warrant has been issued for two other people.

   More than 300 people have been rescued from the wreckage, with more
   than 100 still believed trapped.  Rescuers have been working around the
   clock using cranes, picks, electronic listening devices and their bare
   hands in hopes of finding survivors in the rubble before the end of the
   72-hour post quake window, the minimum time experts give for anyone
   trapped underneath rubble to survive without food or drink.
   Four more survivors were rescued Monday, among them an eight-year-old
   girl who spent more than 60 hours trapped in the wreckage.

    Taiwan's official Central News Agency says nine buildings were
   destroyed in Saturday's pre-dawn 6.4 magnitude quake, all in Tainan
   city.  Dozens of buildings were declared unsafe, forcing mass
   evacuations and the closure of markets, banks and other facilities.

   U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that
   the U.S. Agency for International Development will make a grant of
   $500,000 to the Taiwan Red Cross that will "provide immediate
   assistance to households affected by the earthquake."

   The quake struck two days before the Chinese Lunar New Year
   celebrations, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. Liu
   Shih Chung, the deputy secretary general of Tainan's city government,
   told VOA Monday that hotels are offering to house the earthquake
   victims for free for one week.

   Quake-prone Taiwan is in a highly active seismic zone known as the
   "Pacific Ring of Fire," and more than 50 fault lines pass through the
   island.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/taiwan-developer-arrested-in-collapse-of-earthquake-hit-building/3182924.html