More than half of businesses fail in safety inspections

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter





Random inspections by the Consumer Protection Committee on construction safety and fire safety management of commercial spaces showed that about 64 percent failed at least one of the inspections and about 14 percent failed both inspections.

Senior consumer ombudsman Wang Te-ming (王德明) said among the 48 commercial spaces — 13 hypermarkets or supermarkets, 14 banks, 12 restaurants, five bushibans (補習班, cram schools) and four other types of stores — inspected by the committee in March, only 17 passed all inspection items, and 24 failed construction safety inspections, while 14 failed fire safety inspections.

Priority was given to commercial spaces on first or basement floors and to apartments more than 20 years old, the committee said, adding that to understand whether the companies using the spaces have altered the original construction design by removing main pillars or walls — which might weaken the buildings’ structural integrity during earthquakes — it also examined the original building use permits.

A total of 15 commercial spaces (31 percent) were found with building interiors different from their original permits.

“A Pxmart in Yilan City failed five of the eight items in the construction safety inspection,” Wang said.

“A branch of shoe retailer Family Shoes in southern Taichung failed seven of the 10 items in the fire safety inspection, and failed three items in the construction safety inspection — failing 10 items in all, meaning that it is a dangerous public space,” he added.

Eleven companies have been fined between NT$6,000 and NT$30,000 for failing fire safety inspections, lacking fire escape ladders, having broken emergency lights and blocked fire exits among other problems; and three companies were fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 for failing construction safety inspections.

The committee said it has asked the Ministry of the Interior to keep monitoring the companies that failed the inspections.