HANOI (AFP): A Vietnamese court on Monday cut the sentences of six people convicted over a 2022 blaze that engulfed a karaoke bar and killed 32 people, state media said.
The September 2022 inferno in the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City shocked Vietnam and led to the closure of thousands of karaoke bars nationwide for failing to meet fire regulations.
Six people were jailed over the fire last year -- the bar owner, a construction contractor, and four police officers who signed off on a fire prevention system.
A Ho Chi Minh City appeal court cut the sentence of the bar owner from eight years to six, while the contractor's five-year prison term was replaced with a three-year suspended sentence.
Two police officers were given suspended sentences with time served, while the remaining two were handed six-year sentences -- reducing their terms by at least one year each.
State media reported the sentences were cut because the convicts compensated victims' families, who requested leniency for their crimes.
The blaze at the 30-room An Phu karaoke building trapped customers and staff as dense smoke filled staircases and the emergency exit, killing 17 men and 15 women.
More than two-thirds of the country's approximately 15,000 karaoke bars were forced to close in a safety crackdown in the aftermath, according to state media. - AFP
