Police jailed six people for setting fire to a karaoke bar in Vietnam

Vietnam: Six individuals, including four police officers, were imprisoned by a Vietnamese court on Wednesday, October 30, in connection with a fire that destroyed a karaoke club two years before and claimed 32 lives.

Due to their failure to comply with fire standards, hundreds of karaoke bars around the country were forced to shut down after the shocking incident in a province near the commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City.

The bar’s owner, a contractor who worked on its construction, and four police officers were found guilty by a court in the southern province of Binh Duong of carelessness and violating fire laws.

Le Anh Xuan, the bar’s owner, received an eight-year prison term, while the contractor for the fire protection system received a five-year sentence.

Four police officers received sentences ranging from four to seven and a half years in prison.

Bar Owner Le Anh Xuan apologized

Bar owner Le Anh Xuan apologized to victims and their families in his closing remarks before the court last week, stating that “my mistakes had caused huge losses.”

In September 2022, the 30-room An Phu karaoke facility in Binh Duong caught fire on the second story, trapping patrons and employees as thick smoke filled the stairway and obstructed the emergency escape.

Some were forced to leap from the structure, while others gathered onto a balcony to escape the flames that swiftly spread throughout the timber interior.

32 people—17 men and 15 women—were killed in the fire.

Due to their role in the design and approval of the bar’s fire protection system, the police officers were prosecuted.

Deadly fires are common in Vietnam; last year, a Hanoi apartment fire claimed 56 lives, and the Binh Duong fire led to a statewide crackdown on karaoke clubs that did not follow fire codes.

State media, citing police sources, said that over two-thirds of the nation’s roughly 15,000 karaoke bars were ordered to shut.