Taipei  - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday apologized for the government's slow response to mudslides brought on by Typhoon Morakot as survivors began to hold memorial ceremonies for the dead nearly a week after the storm.

"The rescue effort could have been better, faster, but we failed to do that," Ma said while inspecting Nantou County, one of the disaster areas. "We apologize."

But Ma's apology was not enough to stifle public criticism of the government's inefficiency in rescuing survivors from mudslide-buried mountain villages in Kaohsiung county in southern Taiwan.

On Saturday afternoon when Ma opened a youth baseball championship in Taichung, several opposition lawmakers heckled him, demanding the president step down. A man outside the stadium shouted through the fence: "Ma Ying-jeou, the rescue of survivors hasn't finished yet. Can you sleep well?"

The official casualty toll stood at 121 dead, 53 missing and 45 injured after Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan August 9, bringing heavy downpours and triggering mudslides in its southern highlands.

The death toll, however, could be as high as 500, Ma said Friday, as many villagers remained trapped in the mountains. In the worst-hit area, Hsiaolin village in Kaohsiung, 300 to 350 villagers were believed to be buried under mud as deep as 15 metres.

During memorial ceremonies Saturday, some mourners fainted after losing all their family members in the mudslides. A man mourning for his mother smashed his head with a wine bottle to try to commit suicide.

Hsiaolin villagers were among the area's residents who held a memorial service. The villagers also asked the army to stop digging for the victims because they want the dead to be left in peace and their mud-covered village turned into a memorial park.

A Taipei resident who identified himself only as Mr Yeh fell to his knees to apologize to his dead parents after failing to fulfil a promise before the disaster to buy an apartment and move them to Taipei.

"Ma Ma and Pa Pa, please forgive me," he sobbed. "I came too late. I am so useless."

Faced with the difficulty of sending heavy equipment into the mountains to airlift survivors and clear mud-covered roads, Taiwan on Thursday appealed for international aid.

So far, 59 countries and nine international organizations have responded.

Israel has sent water-purifying equipment, Singapore has supplied food and medicine, and China has offered to provide 1,000 prefabricated houses. (dpa)