HANOI: A court in Vietnam on Wednesday (October 30) jailed six people, including four police officers, in connection with a fire at a karaoke bar two years ago that killed 32 people.

A fire in a province close to the business hub Ho Chi Minh City has shocked Vietnam and led to the closure of thousands of karaoke bars across the country for failing to comply with fire regulations.

A court in southern Binh Duong province found the bar owner, a contractor involved in the construction and four police officers guilty of violating fire regulations and negligence.

Bar owner Le Anh Xuan was sentenced to eight years in prison, while the bar’s fire prevention system contractor was sentenced to five years in prison.

Four police officers were sentenced to between four and seven and a half years in prison.

Speaking in court last week, bar owner Le Anh Xuan apologized to the victims and their families, saying “my mistakes caused great losses.”

In September 2022, flames engulfed the second floor of the 30-room An Phu karaoke building in Binh Duong, trapping customers and staff when thick smoke filled the stairs and blocked the emergency exit.

Many huddled on the balcony to escape the flames that quickly spread through the wooden interior, while others had to jump from the building.

A total of 32 people, 17 men and 15 women, died in the fire.

The police officers were charged for their role in designing and approving the bar’s fire prevention system.

Deadly fires occur regularly in Vietnam – last year a Hanoi apartment disaster killed 56 people – and the Binh Duong fire led to a nationwide crackdown on karaoke bars that do not comply with fire regulations.

More than two-thirds of the country’s approximately 15,000 karaoke bars were forced to close, state media reported, citing police sources.