Death sentence for woman who 'hatred for love' set fire to motel
After being rejected by her lover, defendant Tran Thi Thanh Hai tried every way to win her back but failed. She set fire to the boarding house, causing the death of a pregnant woman, burns to many others, and damage to much property.
On the afternoon of August 31, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced defendant Tran Thi Thanh Hai (born 1993, in Nam Dinh) to death for murder and property destruction.
According to the accusation, in 2016, Tran Thi Thanh Hai married Pham Ngoc H. (born 1991). Around mid-2019, the couple found jobs and moved to Hanoi, renting a house on Lac Long Quan Street.
During this time, although she was living with her husband, the defendant Hai used the name Hai Anh to get acquainted with Mr. Chau Viet H. (born in 1994, from Tuyen Quang, renting a room in Nam Tu Liem district). The defendant told Mr. Chau Viet H. that she was not married.
By early 2020, defendant Hai and Mr. Chau Viet H. had a romantic relationship, but the two often had conflicts.
In February 2020, Chau Viet H. took the initiative to end the relationship with the defendant. To keep her, Hai lied to his lover that she was pregnant, asking Chau Viet H. to take responsibility.
In March 2022, because he did not want to meet and tried to avoid the defendant, Mr. Chau Viet H. moved in with his cousin Hoang Cong Viet (born in 1990) in room 602, number 4, lane 60, Phu Do street, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi.
After learning that his lover had moved, Hai thought that his cousin had incited Viet to end their relationship, so he came up with the idea of buying gasoline to burn his cousin's motorbike in revenge.
At about 3:00 p.m. on March 31, 2022, the defendant rode a motorbike to a gas station on Lac Long Quan Street to buy 30,000 VND worth of gasoline in a 1.5-liter Lavie bottle.
At 6:00 p.m. the same day, the defendant wore a black coat, a black helmet, a mask, and brought a bottle of gasoline to Chau Viet H's motel.
Upon arriving, defendant Hai met a man from the boarding house who was returning from his stay and opened the door, so she asked him to let her in to meet her friend. When she entered, Ms. Hai saw Mr. Viet’s motorbike parked near the stairs, surrounded by many other people’s motorbikes.
At this time, the defendant poured more than 1 liter of gasoline onto Mr. Viet's motorbike, left the remaining bottle of gasoline near the bathroom door, took a matchbox, lit it, and threw it at the motorbike.
Mr. Viet’s motorbike caught fire and spread to the entire area under the stairs on the first floor of the motel. Seeing the fire, the defendant ran away, took off his jacket and threw it at the motel gate, then drove home.
The fire broke out, causing a power outage in the entire building, and the elevator system was not working. The tenants panicked and ran out of their rooms, jostling to run down the stairs, the only way out of the building.
Among those who fled the rented room was Nguyen Thi Mai Anh (born 1997), who was pregnant. Hearing the screams, Anh ran from her rented room to the stairs, but on the first floor, she was suffocated by smoke and fell into the fire, leading to her death on the spot.
Ms. Bui Thi Van Anh (born 1993) carried her two children and ran out. When she reached the 4th floor, she could not go any further because of the smoke. The walls and railings of the stairs were very hot, causing her and her two children to suffer burns in many places. Many other people in the boarding house also suffered from suffocation and burns in many places on their bodies at different levels.
The landlord's family, Mr. Nghiem Van Ly, who lived on the second floor, were able to escape. The investigation agency determined that the fire damaged 13 motorbikes, 1 electric motorbike, and 1 bicycle of the people living in the building. In addition, many of the landlord's properties were also damaged.
Upon receiving the fire alarm, the Fire Police Team of Nam Tu Liem District Police quickly arrived at the scene, put out the fire and guided the trapped people to escape and get out safely. At about 19:30, the fire was extinguished.
Examining the scene, authorities discovered that Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Anh had died, the cause was determined to be CO2 suffocation and burn shock.
Forensic examination of the victims in the building showed that Mr. Nguyen Manh Dung suffered 87% health damage, Ms. Bui Thi Van Anh suffered 7% damage, Ms. Van Anh's children, one child suffered 18% damage, and one child suffered 4%.
Several other victims suffered minor injuries in the fire and refused to have their injuries assessed, not asking the defendant for compensation.
