TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A group of victims of "interior decor cockroaches" held a press conference on Thursday (Sept. 14) to expose the scams of some interior decorators, mostly occurring in central Taiwan.

They were accompanied by four Kuomintang (KMT) legislative candidates who called for more regulations and consumer protection, UDN reported.

The victims said they had entrusted their home renovations to decorators who turned out to be fraudsters. They said the decorators demolished their homes, took their money, and disappeared or made excuses not to complete the work.

They said they had no way to sue for compensation and some even lost their families as a result.

The Taiwan Decoration Victims Assistance Association (台灣裝潢受害者援助協會) said at least 135 people had fallen into the trap. The association said the decorators used fake names, contracts, and documents to deceive the homeowners.

Local councilors Luo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋), Liao Wei-xiang (廖偉翔), Lin Jia-xing (林家興), and Huang Jian-hao (黃健豪), said the "interior decor cockroaches" (裝潢蟑螂) were rampant in central Taiwan. They said they used the owners' properties as a "meat ticket" (肉票) and took whatever they wanted.

They said it was hard to get justice under the law and urged the government to formulate regulations on interior decor companies and establish a system to log unscrupulous operators.

Taichung City Legal Affairs Bureau advised the public to check the reputation and qualifications of interior decorators before entrusting them with renovations. The bureau also recommended signing a standard contract that details the construction project, materials, price, and period, and paying in installments.

Taichung City Urban Development Bureau reminded the interior decoration and construction industries to take responsibility for their projects. The bureau also warned the public to be careful of any promises that involve structural or construction management issues.