A 52-year-old woman suspected of starting a fire at a building in Kaohsiung that left 46 dead and injured 41 was indicted on homicide charges Friday.
Prosecutors have asked the court to impose the “heaviest penalty”, which under Taiwan’s criminal code could see the woman receive the death penalty, a life sentence, or no less than 10 years in prison.
The Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office said the suspect, Huang Ke-ke (黃格格), at 2 a.m. on Oct. 14 burned mosquito-repellent incense and intentionally placed the burning residue on a sofa in a small room on the ground floor of the Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District.
The burning ashes sparked a fire that then spread through the building.
According to prosecutors, the room in which the fire started was owned by someone else and had no water or electricity and Huang often drank with her 53-year-old boyfriend, surnamed Kuo (郭), and friends.
On Oct. 13 night, Huang and Kuo were drinking in the room but three hours before the fire set by Huang, Kuo had left the building. Prosecutors freed Kuo after questioning, saying he played no role in the fire.
The fire in the room burned for almost 30 minutes, producing suffocating smoke and an explosion in wooden decoration in the room, prosecutors said.
While many of the units on the first and second floors of the building were not occupied by residents, some 59 scooters and motorcycles were parked on the first floor, which caused the fire to spread, prosecutors said.
This led to heavy smoke rising to the high levels of the 40-year-old 13-floor building through fire escapes, killing residents living on the seventh floor and above.
Prosecutors said the 46 residents suffered nitric oxide poisoning and shock, which caused them to have difficulties breathing and ultimately fail to escape the fire.
In addition to committing homicide, the indictment document showed Huang, who started the fire, also committed an offense against public safety, which is expected to lead the court to lay down a life sentence or a jail term of no less than seven years.
Prosecutors said the suspect did not show any remorse during the investigation even after the fire killed 46, and that the heaviest punishment had been sought after the woman argued speciously with investigators in an ill-mannered way to defend herself.
The indictment claimed that Huang started the fire because she was angry at Kuo after suspecting that he had been deliberately avoiding her.
Citing witness accounts, the indictment document indicated Huang repeatedly called Kuo and texted him on Oct. 13 night but he did not answer nor reply.
According to the prosecutors, after igniting the fire in the building, an angry Huang returned to her and Kuo’s home located in Fengshan District of the city and texted the boyfriend again, saying: “If you are mad, I will be mad with you,” and “I will do what you want to see. This time, I did it.”
At the time when Huang was sending the angry messages to Kuo, the building was engulfed in flames and many people were dying, prosecutors said.
Police said the suspect once made false accusations saying her boyfriend was involved in drug trafficking and shouted in front of the residence of her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, adding that Huang has become a headache to the community.
The fire in the building was the deadliest fire incident in Kaohsiung. Huang has been detained since Oct. 16.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel