Vengeful lover sets apartment building on fire

By Pham Du   April 1, 2022 | 12:55 am PT
Vengeful lover sets apartment building on fire
The basement of a mini-apartment building on Phu Do Street of Hanoi's Nam Tu Liem District that caught fire on March 31, 2022. Photo by Hanoi police
Hanoi police have arrested a woman over a fire at a mini apartment building that killed one and injured five.

Tran Thi Thanh Hai, 29, a native of northern Nam Dinh Province, was identified as the main culprit in a fire at the apartment building on Phu Do Street of Nam Tu Liem District.

Hai is working at a factory in Hanoi.

She told police that she had been in a romantic relationship with a man named Chau Viet Hoang, 28, for two years.

She said she found out she was pregnant with Hoang's child in January and wanted to get married.

Yet Hoang's family did not approve of Hai while the couple experienced continuous conflicts.

She then accused Hoang, a native of northern Tuyen Quang Province who also works in Hanoi, of moving to live with his cousin to "avoid her" and that it was the cousin that had "separated" them.

On Thursday, she bought a can of gasoline intended for her motorbike.

Later that day, Hai "suddenly" came up with the idea of setting fire to Hoang's cousin motorbike in revenge, she said.

Around 6 p.m., she carried out her plan, as recorded by security cameras.

Security camera footage shows a woman sets fire on a motorbike at an apartment building in Hanoi, March 31, 2022.

After watching the blaze grow, she went to a nearby noodle shop for dinner.

The fire killed Nguyen Thi Mai Anh, 25, a Hanoi resident, on the spot, and injured five others, including four children.

Police said they are verifying if Hai is truly pregnant.

 
 
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