Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi’s investigation agency began legal proceedings against Nguyen Dieu Linh, owner of the karaoke bar at No. 68 Tran Thai Tong street in Cau Giay district, whose 13 customers were killed by a fire on November 1.
The proceedings were also taken against Le Thi Thi, head of a company in charge of renovation work for the karaoke bar, and welder Hoang Van Tuan. Both are being detained.
The three were charged of violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting.
The police earlier confirmed carelessness by Tuan, who is a free-lancer working without any professional licence, during his work as one of the main causes of the karaoke bar fire.
It took more than seven hours for firefighters to stamp out the fire.
Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh from Ha Dong district’s Van Quan said she hired the building for ten years from July this year to July 2026 to run a karaoke service business.
Linh then signed a contract with the Thien An Phu Investment Join-stock Company based in Hoan Kiem district’s Phuc Tan Ward to design and install fire fighting accessories for the bar.
The design and installation plan for fire fighting was licensed by the local police on October 13, and the company started to implement it right away.
By October 31, about 90 percent of the plan had been finished, except a connection for the operation of the fire fighting system, the investigation result revealed.
The implementation of the bar’s firefighting system plan had not totally been completed, but the bar owner still let customers use the room on the second floor on the day when the fire occurred.-VNA