Police in the northern city of Hai Phong are investigating an alleged house arson over a family conflict on Sunday in which all six members of a family were burned. The fire broke out at a house in Hong Thai Commune, An Duong District at 8 pm on March 17. The cause of the blaze remains unknown, but police suspect that someone might have set the house on fire. The victims include Tran Dinh Diep, 28, his wife, Nguyen Thi Luyen, 29, their two daughters Tran Minh Ngoc, 5 and Tran Thu Huyen, 4, and Tran Dinh Hau, 53, Diep’s father, and Nguyen Thi Len, 51, Hau’s wife. All of the victims were taken to Viet Tiep Hospital for emergency treatment. Diep, his wife and his parents suffered burns over 13-50 percent of their bodies. Of these victims, Hau is in the most critical condition, and he is currently in a coma, said Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, head of the hospital’s Surgery Department. Meanwhile the two children, who received burns over 80 percent of their bodies, were transferred from the hospital to the National Burn Institute yesterday afternoon. Yesterday, when working with investigators, Hau’s relatives said the fire had been caused by a short circuit, but police, based on evidence collected from the scene, said someone had used petrol to set fire to the house. After recovering at the hospital, Diep gave police inconsistent testimony. At one point he admitted that he had set the house on fire, but later he said his father had burnt the house. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Nap, Luyen’s father, cited Luyen as saying that on the night of March 17 she and Diep [her husband] had an argument, which was cooled down by Hau [Diep’s father]. Luyen then went to bed with her daughters while Hau drank alcohol and swore. She claimed that Hau later used petrol to set fire to the house.

Conflict According to Luyen’s relatives, she and Diep were married in 2007. Luyen works at a shoe company while Diep is a mason. Due to their difficult living conditions, and also because they have yet to have a son as desired, the couple often quarreled with each other. Diep’s father often scolded the couple for having no son, Luyen’s relatives said. After investigations, the district police concluded that the incident was an arson that had originated from family conflicts. “It is necessary to consolidate evidence before we can identify the culprit behind the fire. Given that this is a serious case, we have transferred it to the city police for handling. Investigators are collecting and comparing testimonies from all those involved,” a leader of the district police said.