Six people, including four police officers, were jailed by a Vietnamese court on Wednesday, 30 October 2024, in connection with a fire that destroyed a karaoke bar two years ago, killing thirty-two people.

Due to the shocking fire in a province near the commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City, thousands of karaoke bars around the country were forced to close because they did not comply with fire safety rules.

A court in the southern province of Binh Duong found the bar’s owner, a contractor who built it, and four police officers guilty of negligence and violating fire codes.

Bar owner Le Anh Xuan was sentenced to eight years in prison, the contractor for the bar’s fire prevention system five years in prison, while four police officers were sentenced, ranging from four to seven and a half years in prison. “My mistakes had caused huge losses,” bar owner Le Anh Xuan said in his closing remarks before the court last week, expressing his regret to the victims and their families.

In September 2022, a flame escalated to the second level of the 30-room An Phu karaoke building in Binh Duong, trapping customers and staff members as thick smoke filled the stairway and obstructed the emergency exit. Others were forced to jump from the structure, while several crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames that quickly spread through the timber interior. Thirteen men and fifteen women were among the 32 people who perished in the fire. The police officers were charged, due to their role in the design and approval of the bar’s fire prevention system.

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. According to official media, which cited police sources, over two-thirds of the nation’s roughly 15,000 karaoke clubs were forced to close.

AFP

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