Five Indicted in Collapse of Hotel

Prosecutors charged five people, including a ruling-party politician, with negligence in the fatal collapse of a building in Taiwan’s devastating earthquake. They were accused of cutting corners in the design and construction of the 12-story Sungshan Hotel in Taipei, the capital. The building’s columns were too small and inadequately reinforced, and the concrete was of poor quality, prosecutors said. The building toppled during the magnitude 7.6 quake on Sept. 21, and at least 73 people were killed there and 14 listed as missing. The quake killed at least 2,295 people and damaged tens of thousands of buildings in Taiwan. Among those indicted was Shieh Lung-sheng, an influential Nationalist Party politician. However, Shieh has suffered a stroke and is unable to appear for trial, the United Evening News reported.