An Phu karaoke fire: Owner sentenced to 8 years in prison, defendant claims injustice and receives sentence

On October 30, the People's Court of Binh Duong province concluded the trial of the An Phu karaoke bar fire in Thuan An city, one of the most serious fires in recent times, which killed 32 people and injured 3 others.

On the morning of October 30, the People's Court of Binh Duong province continued the trial and sentenced the defendants in the An Phu karaoke bar fire (Thuan An city, Binh Duong province).

Previously, on October 24 and 25, the trial was held, but due to many issues that needed to be clarified, the panel of judges decided to extend the deliberation.

In this case, there are 5 defendants on trial for "violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting": Le Anh Xuan (owner of An Phu karaoke bar); Vu Truong Son, Pham Quoc Hung, Pham Thi Hong (all former officers of the Fire Prevention and Fighting - Rescue Department of Binh Duong Provincial Police) and Nguyen Thanh Luan (Director of Thai Binh Anh Company Limited).

Defendant Nguyen Van Vo (former officer of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Team of Thuan An City Police) was accused of "lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".

According to the Procuracy, this is an extremely serious case, causing great damage to people and property, disturbing public security and violating fire prevention and fighting management order. The defendants' actions not only endanger society but also demonstrate a disregard for human life and the law.

The jury sentenced the defendants severely to ensure deterrence and prevent similar incidents.

Specifically, defendant Le Anh Xuan (born in 1980, owner of An Phu karaoke bar) was sentenced to 8 years in prison; defendant Pham Thi Hong (born in 1983) was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison. This is the highest sentence in this case.

The defendants Pham Quoc Hung (born in 1980) received a sentence of 7 years in prison, defendant Vu Truong Son (born in 1987) was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison, and defendant Nguyen Thanh Luan (born in 1987) was sentenced to 5 years in prison, all for the crime of "violating fire prevention and fighting regulations".

Defendant Nguyen Van Vo (born in 1985) was sentenced to four years in prison for "lack of responsibility causing serious consequences". According to the indictment, the cause of the fire was due to the violation of fire prevention regulations by the restaurant owner and related officers, causing the fire prevention system to fail to function when the incident occurred.

Regarding civil liability, the defendants are required to compensate the victims for damages and are responsible for providing support for the victims' families according to the provisions of law.

Notably, throughout the trial, defendant Pham Thi Hong repeatedly pleaded innocent, claiming that she had not committed any crime. However, the panel of judges determined that there was sufficient basis to determine that Hong had committed a crime when she accepted to construct the fire protection system for the An Phu karaoke establishment.

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Binh Duong province, in 2017, Hong was a police officer working at the General Team of the Fire Prevention and Rescue Guidance and Command Department (under the Fire Prevention and Rescue Police of Binh Duong province). Although he had no legal status and was not granted a business license in the field of fire prevention and fighting, Hong accepted a contract to construct a fire prevention and fighting system for the An Phu karaoke establishment to receive money.

After that, Hong hired another person to do the construction, then took advantage of his colleague relationship with Pham Quoc Hung (the officer directly inspecting and accepting the fire protection system), to influence the inspection and acceptance of the fire protection system of An Phu facility and got Hung's consent.

After asking the contractor and influencing Pham Quoc Hung, Hong also asked Nguyen Thanh Luan - Director of Thai Binh Anh LLC (a licensed unit qualified to do fire protection services) to sign the contractor section in the acceptance report prepared by Pham Quoc Hung, with the purpose of legalizing the documents according to regulations.

In the case of Vu Truong Son, a police officer assigned to approve and evaluate fire prevention and fighting plans, he did not comply with regulations, leading to the facility going into operation without meeting the requirements.

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