TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kee Tai and the Taipei government have continued exchanging blows following the partial-sinking of a building in the Dazhi neighborhood on Sept. 7.

During a briefing on Monday (Sept. 11) at the hotel where affected residents are staying, Kee Tai Properties CEO Feng Hsien-mien (馮先勉) said that the Taipei government had originally asked Kee Tai to step back and allow relevant authorities to handle the situation, per the China Times. Deputy Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) retorted Feng’s comments while speaking to reporters on Tuesday (Sept. 12), asking “Did any reporters see (Kee Tai) in the front seat? How on earth can they take a back seat if they were not on the scene in the first place?”

Arguments broke out among residents about whether Kee Tai or the Taipei government should complete the redevelopment work. One resident is reported to have said, “You can’t blame us for siding with the evil wolf, Kee Tai," per UDN.

In an attempt to calm the situation, Feng told the desperate residents, "We are one family. We must stand united." However, Feng’s appeal aggravated some residents, with one replying, “Our homes have been destroyed. It should be the 25 households united against you. How can you have the audacity to tell us what to do?”

Feng presented a remittance receipt and bank passbooks to the residents to prove that Kee Tai had transferred NT$100 million (US$3.12 million) into a trust fund for disaster relief costs. However, it was subsequently revealed that this sum had been deposited into the company’s own Fubon account, prompting the Taipei government to accuse Kee Tai of being “expert liars” who were “deceiving disaster victims.”

Faced with mounting criticism, Kee Tai finally transferred the funds to the city government's designated account on Tuesday (Sept. 12). Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said in a press conference, “I care about the tears of the victims of the event, not the tears of the developer."