Hanoi karaoke bar owner imprisoned for fire that kills three firefighters

Pham Duy Hung, 40, owner of the ISIS karaoke parlor in Cau Giay District, was sentenced by the Hanoi People’s Court for offences against regulations of law on fire safety and firefighting.

The parlor is a six-story building on Quan Hoa Street and has been operating since 2018. In February 2022, Hung expanded two rooms on the 7th floor using steel frames without informing local authorities. The expansion was completed in April 2022.

Starting May 2022, Hung used one room on the 7th floor for karaoke, while the other room was used for storage. Prosecutors said when he was applying documents for fire safety approval, he still ran his establishment as usual.

At around 1 p.m. on August 1, 2022, a fire began in one of the rooms on the 7th floor and spread across the entire parlor. During firefighting efforts, three firefighters: Dang Anh Quan, Do Duc Viet and Nguyen Dinh Phuc, lost their lives.

The cause of the fire was determined to be due to an electrical fault of the air-conditioning system.