Bus arson suspect ‘wanted to make name with horrific event’
Print Edition
A SUSPECTED arsonist who started a fire on a bus in Hangzhou on Saturday that left 32 people injured had said he wanted to “make a name for himself” by creating a horrific event following examples of previous crimes, police claimed yesterday.
Suspect Bao Laixu, who is in a serious condition and has not been interviewed, had no accomplices, said police.
He boarded the bus at Lingyin Temple at 4:09pm and started a fire at 5:03pm.
Bao had been carrying a backpack, inside which was a large container of banana oil that he used as an accelerant.
A total of 29 people who were on the bus at the time of the blaze are still in hospital, 15 of whom are said to be in a serious condition.
Police said Bao, a middle school graduate from Gansu Province, had worked in Lanzhou City in Gansu and Guangzhou City of Guangdong Province.
He returned home to Zhangxian County for treatment after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Bao left Zhangxian for Lanzhou again in August of 2008 and never returned nor contacted his family.
The 34-year-old is the youngest child of his parents, who are both farmers, according to thepaper.cn. He has two brothers and a sister.
Villagers at his hometown told police Bao was unsociable and introverted.
He had lived in temporary residences in many parts of Zhejiang Province and changed jobs several times.
He traveled from Yiwu to Hangzhou in Zhejiang on Saturday morning.
Bao had told others that he wanted to shoot to fame by following the example of vicious crimes, police said.
His last employer was the Jiachen Paper Co, according to thepaper.cn. He took the job on June 18 and worked only two hours the next day before leaving without telling anyone, said the website.
His boss Jin Ying had called him and sent him text messages many times after his disappearance, but could not contact him.
“I had spent only one day with him. He had excellent reputation in our industry as a paper cutter and seemed relaxed when I saw him,” Jin told the website.
Bao’s skills as a paper cutter were certainly well-regarded at other Yiwu companies.
Zeng Guangping, warehouse keeper of the Xiangjie Co, said his boss, surnamed Yang, always mentioned Bao when unsatisfied with his work.
“My boss said Bao was able to bear workload twice of mine.” Zeng said.
Yang recruited Bao at a job fair in Yiwu in 2012 when he was establishing his company.
“Even now, I cannot believe Bao could do such a thing,” Yang said.
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