What crime is the person who set fire to a coffee shop, killing 11 people, being charged with?

At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee on December 19, Lieutenant General Nguyen Hai Trung (Director of Hanoi Police) confirmed that the fire at the coffee shop on Pham Van Dong Street that killed 11 people was a murder by arson, not a normal fire.

The cafe arsonist had a very high blood alcohol concentration.

The Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has prosecuted and detained Cao Van Hung (51 years old, residing in Dai Mach commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi) to investigate the crimes of murder and property destruction.

On the same day, the Hanoi People's Procuracy approved the decisions to prosecute the accused and the detention order against the accused to serve the investigation of the above two crimes.

"The cause of the incident was that Cao Van Hung came to drink beer at a coffee shop, then had a conflict with a group of customers who were also drinking beer there," according to the Director of Hanoi Police.

After testing, the police determined that Hung was negative for drugs, but his blood alcohol concentration was 191.86 mg/100 - this is a very high concentration.

In addition, Lieutenant General Nguyen Hai Trung also informed that Cao Van Hung had a previous conviction for robbery and theft of property.

"Extreme and dangerous behavior"

Following the developments of the case, Dr. and Lieutenant Colonel Dao Trung Hieu (criminology expert) assessed Cao Van Hung's behavior as extreme and dangerous.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Hieu, Hung lacked the ability to control himself or to handle conflicts peacefully, combined with his easily agitated nature, leading to the actions as stated. In addition, the subject had a distorted mindset that violence was the only way to solve problems and also to assert himself.

"The above factors may be the result of the influence of the living environment and society, or stem from pressures in life that cause them to fall into a deadlock, unable to find a way out," said Dr. Dao Trung Hieu.

At the same time, the criminologist also emphasized the factor: small disagreements in life that are not handled properly can be blown up and become big conflicts. "The psychology of having an ego that is too high makes the subject not want to give in, leading to violent behavior," said Mr. Hieu.

Conflict over 50,000 VND cigarette pack

At the police station, Hung said that he went to the coffee shop and ordered a beer and a pack of cigarettes. Then Hung stood up and asked the owner how much it cost. At that time, a female employee said it was 50,000 VND.

Hung searched his pocket but couldn't find his wallet. He remembered that he had left it "over there" so he told the employee, "Wait a minute, I'll go get the money."

At this time, the restaurant staff shouted "this guy is not paying". Immediately, a man appeared and hit Hung, causing him to fall onto the street. This man then continued to punch and kick Hung.

10 minutes later, Hung woke up and thought, "I have to buy some gasoline to burn it because he beat me so badly." The suspect immediately called a taxi to buy a bucket and went to the gas station to buy 150,000 VND worth of gasoline, then returned and poured it on the glass door of the coffee shop, causing the gasoline to flow inside the shop and onto his leg.