Self-immolation because of being forbidden to love his teenage sister-in-law

Being prevented from having a relationship with his 13-year-old sister-in-law, Loc repeatedly threatened to kill his wife's entire family before setting himself on fire, causing severe burns to his wife, child, and two others.

On the afternoon of June 10, Dak Lak Provincial Police completed the crime scene investigation and handed over the body of Ngo Quoc Loc (23 years old) - the man who poured gasoline on his wife and children's bed and set himself on fire - to his family for burial. "The person who caused the fire is dead, so the investigation agency will not prosecute the case," said Colonel Nguyen Van Bon, Head of the Criminal Police Department.

Police examine the scene of the fire. Photo: Kh.Uyen

In a dilapidated house of less than 20 square meters in Ea Phe commune, Krong Pak district, Mr. Hoang Van Luong (Loc’s father-in-law) stood frozen in the face of the disaster his son-in-law had brought upon his family. Currently, his two daughters and two young grandchildren are in critical condition.

Mr. Luong said that two years ago, Loc and his daughter, Hoang Thi Khen (19 years old), got married. After that, Loc and his wife, along with his 13-year-old sister-in-law, moved to Ho Chi Minh City to work. A few days after Khen gave birth, the couple often had conflicts. Because he had feelings for his sister-in-law, Loc often beat Khen for no reason.

When the wife's family discovered the incident, they tried to stop him, but the son-in-law did not listen and instead threatened to kill the whole family. In November 2015, Loc and his wife returned to Dak Lak. Khen and her children lived with her mother's family in a hut behind the house, while Loc lived about 10 km away.

According to Mr. Luong, since the separation, Loc has repeatedly come to his house to cause trouble, curse and demand to take his son home to raise. "I told him that if he loved his son, he should let him grow up a bit and then take him home to raise, but he wouldn't listen. His ultimate goal was to find a way to get the little girl," Mr. Luong said sadly.

On the night of June 9, while Mr. Luong's family was sleeping, Loc ran into the house with a can of gasoline, broke into the hut where his wife and children, and Ms. Hoang Thi Ninh (24 years old, Khen's older sister) and their 40-day-old son were sleeping. He poured gasoline on the bed, set himself on fire and burned himself.

"Hearing the children's cries for help, my wife and I ran downstairs and saw five people burning like torches. Because the hut was only about 4 square meters wide, with only one door and many belongings, it was difficult for my children to escape. Although the fire burned their entire bodies, Khen and her sister still tried to carry the two children out. My family used a water hose to put out the fire and took all five children to the emergency room," Mr. Luong painfully recalled.

Mr. Luong was heartbroken by the disaster his son-in-law caused to his family. Photo: Kh. Uyen

On the same afternoon, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Phuoc, Head of the Orthopedic Trauma Department of Dak Lak General Hospital, said that he had prepared documents to transfer the four victims to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. "The victims have overcome the shock but are still in critical condition, with a high mortality rate, especially for the two young children," said Dr. Phuoc.

According to vnexpress