The Vietnamese agreed on a 12-year sentence for setting fire to an apartment with six sleeping people in Prague
“The court found that all legal conditions for the approval of the agreement on guilt and punishment were met, and the reason for not approving the agreement,” said Senate President Lenka Cihlářová.
Last May, Van set fire to an apartment in Hostivař, Prague, in which six people slept, including a then-month-old child. The defendant had previously argued with the other occupants of the apartment because of his inappropriate behavior. Van packed up in the morning, took his things from the apartment to the house next door, and drove to a nearby gas station. There he stole a plastic watering can, refueled over seven liters of gasoline and went back to the apartment without paying.
He spilled gasoline in it and set it on fire. Only thanks to the interplay of lucky coincidences, one of the sleeping inhabitants of the apartment woke up and caught the others. They began to throw flammable things out of windows and balconies and to call the apartment owner and their relatives to call the fire department. They, in cooperation with the police, eventually prevented the fire from spreading and evacuated the apartment residents. The fire was avoided without any loss of health or life.
“I wanted to help, not hurt”
Van basically confessed to his actions and regretted him. “I know I’m wrong. I regret my actions, “he said in court on Thursday. Nevertheless, he set out the motive for his actions.
“I was interested in science, I acted under the influence of psychotropic substances. I wanted to invent something that would change this world. I wanted to help people, not hurt. I wanted to invent an application that would help people in health care, “Van said, adding that French or British television stations” would be interested in his story. “
She finally reached an agreement on guilt and punishment with the public prosecutor. “The defendant confessed to his act as part of the agreement,” said prosecutor Tatiana Prici. Van thus received a sentence at the very lower limit of the sentence, which in his case amounts to 12 to 20 years in prison, or even an exceptional sentence. According to the verdict, Van must also pay the insurance company almost 1.5 million as compensation.