Trial postponed in Formosa construction site scaffolding collapse case.

(Baonghean.vn) - During the preliminary hearing of the case involving the scaffolding collapse that killed 13 workers at the Formosa construction site (Vung Ang, Ha Tinh), one defendant was absent due to illness, so the court announced a postponement of the trial.

On the morning of November 16th, the People's Court of Ha Tinh province opened the first-instance trial of the scaffolding collapse case at the Formosa Project construction site (Vung Tau Economic Zone, Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh province), which resulted in 13 deaths and 29 injuries.

A panoramic view of the trial.

The four defendants on trial in this case are Lee Jae Myeong (62 years old) and Kim Jong Wook (43 years old, both South Korean nationals), Nguyen Anh Tuan (27 years old, residing in Quang Hai commune, Ba Don town, Quang Binh province), and Nguyen Thai Duc (30 years old, from Ky Trung commune, Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province).

All four defendants were prosecuted for "Violating regulations on occupational safety" under Clause 3, Article 227 of the Penal Code.

As previously reported, at 7:50 PM on March 25th, a tragic scaffolding collapse occurred at the construction site of the submerged well at Son Duong Port (Port No. 7), part of a project by the Formosa Group. The collapse resulted in the deaths of 13 workers from provinces including Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An, and injured 29 others.

Three of the four defendants were present at the trial.

During the construction of the project, NIBELC (International Construction and Labor Supply Joint Stock Company) provided skilled manpower (as a subcontractor) to Samsung C&T Joint Stock Company (part of the Samsung Group - the construction unit).

The scaffolding system was imported (temporarily imported, re-exported) from abroad by Samsung C&T Corporation for the construction of the Formosa Project.

On the afternoon of March 31, the Ha Tinh Provincial Police Department issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings for violating regulations on labor safety (according to Article 227 of the Penal Code) that occurred at the submerged well casting construction site of the Formosa project.

The investigation revealed that prior to the tragic scaffolding collapse, the scaffolding on Lane 2 had malfunctioned and was shaking dangerously, yet Kim Jong Wook still allowed workers to continue working. When the scaffolding shook violently and made loud noises, the workers panicked and fled down, at which point Lee Jae Myeong went up to inspect it.

After inspecting the site, Mr. Lee Jae Myeong forced the workers to continue climbing the scaffolding to work, which then collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 13 workers and injuries to 29 others.

At the time of the scaffolding collapse, Tuan and Duc were both contract workers operating the hydraulic system for Nibelc Company. Lee Jae Myeong was the foreman (manager) of Samsung C&T Company. Kim Jong Wook was the site manager of Samsung C&T Company, working on scaffolding Lane 1 and Lane 2, in the Son Duong port area, part of the Formosa Project.

The victim's family was present at the trial.

The indictment from the People's Procuratorate of Ha Tinh province states that the actions of Mr. Kim Jong Wook and Mr. Lee Jae Myeong constituted that despite discovering a very high risk of accidents, they did not allow workers to stop working but instead instructed them to continue working, causing serious consequences as described above. This behavior violates point C, clause 1, article 140 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Although Tuan and Duc discovered the incident, they failed to report it promptly to the person in charge of the construction site, violating point C, clause 2, article 138 of the Penal Code and point a, clause 1, article 17 of Decree 95/2013 on cases of occupational accident prevention.

During the trial, in the identity verification phase, among the four defendants of South Korean and Vietnamese nationality, defendant Nguyen Thai Duc (30 years old, from Ky Trung commune, Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province) was absent from the trial due to poor health. Defendant Duc had a certificate stating that he was receiving treatment at a general hospital for headaches caused by a work accident, and a confirmation from the local authorities stating that he was being treated at the hospital and had a treatment plan.

At the same time, a defense lawyer for the defendants requested a postponement of the trial because the lawyer was away on business in another province. Several of the defendants and some legal representatives of the victims were also absent from the trial.

The representative of the People's Procuracy of Ha Tinh province requested a postponement of the trial for a later date.

After deliberation, the panel of judges of the People's Court of Ha Tinh province decided to postpone the trial.

Khanh An