Anger over unpaid wages costs 14 lives in factory fire
By Li Qian |
December 6, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A MAN arrested for setting a south China bra workshop on fire, killing 14 workers and seriously injuring another, said yesterday that he did it because he was angry over unpaid wages.
In an interview with Guangdong TV, Liu Shuangyun said he had been working for nearly a year at the brassiere factory in Shantou City and when he quit his job he was owed 3,000 yuan (US$481) in back wages. He said he had tried unsuccessfully to claim his money several times.
Liu said he spent 40 yuan on petrol and went to his former workplace on Tuesday afternoon. He said he poured the petrol on sponges piled up on the first and second floors and set them alight.
Fifteen workers were trapped inside the four-story building when the fire broke out - 13 women aged between 18 and 20 and a man died in the blaze. Another worker is being treated in hospital for serious injuries and his condition is said to be life-threatening.
Twenty-seven people were at work when Liu set the fire, 12 managed to escape.
"The fire started on the ground floor and all of us had difficulty escaping. I was working near a window and survived by jumping out of it," said Chen Xiaoshan, a 21-year-old female survivor.
The fire was contained within half an hour and extinguished in less than an hour, fire officials said, but it had consumed an area of more than 200 square meters.
Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, said Chen Zhiwei, a police officer in charge of the investigation.
Asked whether he regretted the loss of lives the fire had caused, Liu replied: "I didn't think about these things."
Sitting on a chair and in handcuffs, he told the TV interviewer: "The whole time, I've been very impulsive, very angry about this. So I did these things."
Liu said the factory owner, a man surnamed Chen, had only given him excuses as to why he couldn't pay the wages.
On Tuesday morning, Liu sent him a text message asking for the money and adding "you can run away today but can't escape tomorrow." He said he tried to call Chen twice but there was no reply.
Chen wasn't among the victims.
Xinhua news agency said Liu, a 26-year-old migrant worker from Hunan Province, had been arrested, but didn't specify what charges he faced.
He was caught in a hostel in Shantou's neighboring city of Puning nearly seven hours after the fire. Video footage had shown Liu arriving at the factory shortly before the blaze broke out at 3:30pm.
"It was so miserable. There were 12 unmarried young girls and a 29-year-old pregnant worker," said Chen.
Local villagers rushed to rescue the workers after they saw flames coming from the factory.
The fire spread from the ground floor and workers inside could not escape from the stairs, said a villager surnamed Zhang, who injured his hands in the rescue bid.
"Some of them jumped from the windows and we tried to catch them," Zhang said.
Provincial officials have stepped up safety measures to avoid similar fatal fires.
In an interview with Guangdong TV, Liu Shuangyun said he had been working for nearly a year at the brassiere factory in Shantou City and when he quit his job he was owed 3,000 yuan (US$481) in back wages. He said he had tried unsuccessfully to claim his money several times.
Liu said he spent 40 yuan on petrol and went to his former workplace on Tuesday afternoon. He said he poured the petrol on sponges piled up on the first and second floors and set them alight.
Fifteen workers were trapped inside the four-story building when the fire broke out - 13 women aged between 18 and 20 and a man died in the blaze. Another worker is being treated in hospital for serious injuries and his condition is said to be life-threatening.
Twenty-seven people were at work when Liu set the fire, 12 managed to escape.
"The fire started on the ground floor and all of us had difficulty escaping. I was working near a window and survived by jumping out of it," said Chen Xiaoshan, a 21-year-old female survivor.
The fire was contained within half an hour and extinguished in less than an hour, fire officials said, but it had consumed an area of more than 200 square meters.
Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation, said Chen Zhiwei, a police officer in charge of the investigation.
Asked whether he regretted the loss of lives the fire had caused, Liu replied: "I didn't think about these things."
Sitting on a chair and in handcuffs, he told the TV interviewer: "The whole time, I've been very impulsive, very angry about this. So I did these things."
Liu said the factory owner, a man surnamed Chen, had only given him excuses as to why he couldn't pay the wages.
On Tuesday morning, Liu sent him a text message asking for the money and adding "you can run away today but can't escape tomorrow." He said he tried to call Chen twice but there was no reply.
Chen wasn't among the victims.
Xinhua news agency said Liu, a 26-year-old migrant worker from Hunan Province, had been arrested, but didn't specify what charges he faced.
He was caught in a hostel in Shantou's neighboring city of Puning nearly seven hours after the fire. Video footage had shown Liu arriving at the factory shortly before the blaze broke out at 3:30pm.
"It was so miserable. There were 12 unmarried young girls and a 29-year-old pregnant worker," said Chen.
Local villagers rushed to rescue the workers after they saw flames coming from the factory.
The fire spread from the ground floor and workers inside could not escape from the stairs, said a villager surnamed Zhang, who injured his hands in the rescue bid.
"Some of them jumped from the windows and we tried to catch them," Zhang said.
Provincial officials have stepped up safety measures to avoid similar fatal fires.
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