Restaurant owner sentenced to 10 years in prison

On the afternoon of August 7, the Hanoi People's Court announced the verdict on the fire that occurred at the ISIS karaoke bar (Quan Hoa Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi) that killed 3 fire police officers.

Defendant Pham Duy Hung, owner of ISIS karaoke bar, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Very serious offense

The trial panel decided to sentence defendant Pham Duy Hung (40 years old, owner of ISIS karaoke bar) to 10 years in prison for violating fire prevention and fighting regulations, as stipulated in Article 313 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Regarding civil liability, the court ordered the defendant to compensate each victim's family 230 million VND, in addition to providing 2 million VND/month for the mother of martyr Dang Anh Quan, and 2 million VND/month for Mr. Quan's 2 children until they turn 18 years old.

The trial panel assessed that the crime committed by defendant Pham Duy Hung was very serious, threatening the lives and property of the people; causing unpredictable disasters in terms of both human lives and property, especially the sacrifice of fire police officers.

Prosecutor cries while reading the indictment of the ISIS karaoke bar fire case

The defendant was fully aware of the consequences of his actions but still deliberately committed them, so a severe sentence is needed for general deterrence and prevention.

The verdict determined that in March 2018, defendant Pham Duy Hung bought the ISIS karaoke business. According to the license, this establishment was only allowed to operate 4 singing rooms, but in reality, it had 9 rooms.

In February 2022, defendant Hung hired people to renovate and expand 2 more karaoke rooms on the 7th floor with iron frames, corrugated iron fences, plaster ceilings, soundproofing layers, electrical systems, air conditioning and decoration...

According to regulations, the expansion must be approved by the authorities, and after the expansion is approved, it must be put into use. However, defendant Hung did not notify the authorities, nor was he granted a certificate of eligibility for security and fire prevention, but he used room 702 as a karaoke room and room 701 as a warehouse.

Early in the afternoon of August 1, 2022, the electrical wire inside the air conditioner in karaoke room 702 short-circuited, causing the insulation to burn and spread around, covering the entire karaoke bar.

Upon receiving the news, Hanoi City Police dispatched many fire trucks and firefighters to the scene. During the firefighting and rescue process, three firefighters Dang Anh Quan, Nguyen Dinh Phuc and Do Duc Viet were blocked by falling materials on the stairs, blocking the exit, causing all three to die.

Scene of the ISIS karaoke bar fire in 2022

The restaurant owner apologized to the families of the 3 soldiers.

Previously, to serve the trial, the court summoned a fire police officer who had directly participated in the firefighting and rescue at the ISIS karaoke bar. This officer said that the reason why the three police officers died was because the structure of the building was very tight, with almost no openings, leading to heat congestion.

When approaching the scene, the fire police did not know that there was a technical shaft inside, because it was covered, so it affected the fire fighting plan. This also caused the flammable material to fall along the technical shaft, burning from the first floor up to the entire building, instead of initially only burning in the attic and penthouse areas. The fault lies with the building owner.

Present in court, the family representative of the three fallen fire police officers requested the defendant to compensate according to the law, including funeral expenses, losses and support for relatives.

"The defendant's disregard for the law has caused very serious consequences, including the sacrifice of my son. This is an aggravating circumstance for the defendant," the father of martyr Do Duc Viet said, choking with emotion.

On his part, defendant Pham Duy Hung admitted all the accusations. The owner of the ISIS karaoke bar realized that his mistakes were partly the cause of the sacrifice of the three soldiers. The defendant was very remorseful, had nothing to defend, and accepted to pay compensation according to the law.

Having the last word, the karaoke bar owner apologized to the victims' families, hoping the jury would consider reducing the sentence so that they could return to start a new life and have money to pay off their debts.

The representative of the prosecutor's office assessed that the defendant's criminal act caused particularly serious consequences, especially in the context of the recent complicated fire and explosion situation, and needed to be strictly handled to warn others, so he proposed a sentence of 10-12 years in prison.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/vu-chay-quan-karaoke-khien-3-canh-sat-hy-sinh-chu-quan-bi-phat-10-nam-tu-185230807164853222.htm