Trial of An Phu karaoke bar fire case that killed 32 people

This morning, October 24, the People's Court of Binh Duong province opened the first instance trial of the criminal case of "Violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting" and "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences" that occurred at the An Phu karaoke establishment, causing 32 deaths.

This case has 6 defendants, divided into 2 groups of charges. In particular, the defendants Le Anh Xuan (owner of An Phu karaoke establishment), Vu Truong Son, Pham Quoc Hung, Pham Thi Hong (all former police officers in charge of areas under the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police), Nguyen Thanh Luan (Director of Thai Binh Anh Company Limited) were tried for the crime of "Violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting". In particular, defendant Nguyen Van Vo (former officer of the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police Team of Thuan An City Police) was tried for the crime of "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".

At the trial, all 6 defendants were present, in addition, those with related rights and obligations as well as representatives of the victims were also present as summoned by the court. Therefore, the Trial Panel decided to hold the trial.

The trial is scheduled to take place on October 24 and 25, with 11 lawyers defending the defendants, 22 people with related rights and obligations, and 34 witnesses. In addition, the Trial Panel also summoned representatives for 32 victims.

In this case, the families of the 32 victims requested the owner of An Phu karaoke bar to compensate them with more than 27 billion VND (including funeral expenses, mental damage, child support, and support for the victims' parents).