Contrary to the police’s assumption, a father of two daughters in northern Hai Phong City has admitted to having set fire to his house on Sunday night. The blaze killed his father and two daughters and injured three others, including himself.

Tran Dinh Diep, 28, who was slightly burned in the arson at his house in Hong Thai Commune, An Duong District on March 17, told police yesterday that he set the house on fire using petrol. Before the confession, Diep had given 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. The confession runs counter to the police’s earlier suspicion that it was Diep’s father, Tran Dinh Hau, 53, who was responsible for the deadly fire. After getting home on the evening of the 17th Diep saw his wife, 29-year-old Nguyen Thi Luyen, arguing with his father. Diep asked them to stop but they did not listen, Diep told police. They even beat and strangled each other on the floor of the couple’s bedroom, Diep said, adding that he and Nguyen Thi Len, his mother, failed to stop them from attacking each other. His anger rising thanks to the fight, Diep shouted loudly, “Stop beating each other or I will burn the house!” Despite his warning, the fight continued. Diep’s anger peaked and he lost control of himself, as he went to a corner of the room, opened a can of petrol and used it to set the room on fire. Flames quickly spread to other areas of the house.

City police have detained Diep for further questioning and are collecting and comparing testimonies from those who were involved in the deadly fire to come to an official conclusion about who was behind the fire. As previously reported, 4-year-old Tran Thu Huyen, the youngest daughter of Diep and Luyen, died on Tuesday at the National Burn Institute in Hanoi due to fatal burns covering more than 90 percent of her body. Yesterday morning, Diep’s father, who received burns over 50 percent of his body, died for respiratory and circulation failures. This morning, March 21, relatives of the fire victims said that Huyen’s sister, 5-year-old Tran Minh Ngoc, who suffered burns over 80 percent of her body, also died at the Institute. Meanwhile, Diep’s wife and his mother who both received burns to over 30 percent of their bodies are being treated at the Viet Tiep Hospital.

The terrible fire has led to a serious conflict between the victims' relatives, who argued and even assaulted each other at Huyen’s funeral yesterday.