Residents of Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔) erupted in tears yesterday after the Taichung High Administrative Court ruled that the county government had illegally destroyed houses belonging to four families last year.

The court said the Ministry of the Interior had failed to conduct a review of a project submitted by the Miaoli County Government to demolish the private homes in Dapu to make way for a science park before approving the project.