Father sues 9 companies after family's death in fire
Lin Shengbin seen outside the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Hangzhou city, east China's Zhejiang province, on December 21, 2017.
A man has filed a lawsuit against nine companies, demanding total compensation of 130 million yuan (US$20.23 million), after his wife and three children died in a house fire set by their nanny in an eastern China city.
Lin Shengbin has taken nine companies, including the Hangzhou fire bureau, the property management company of his apartment, its designer, constructor and the agency who introduced him the nanny, to court. Hangzhou City’s Intermediate People’s Court has accepted the lawsuit, The Beijing News reported on Wednesday.
Lin’s wife and three children, aged 6, 9 and 11, died of asphyxia after their nanny, Mo Huanjing, set the apartment on fire on June 22, 2017. Mo intended to start a fire and then put it out to win trust from the family so that she could borrow more money from them.
Lin was away on a business trip when the tragedy happened.
Mo had a gambling addiction and stole multiple times from Lin to pay off her debts. Mo was sentenced to death in February 2018 in the first trial. She has made an appeal.
Lin blamed the property management company for not properly handling the fire emergency and not keeping fire facilities in good condition, among other things. The nanny agency was also accused of not vetting Mo thoroughly, since she had stolen on multiple occasions from previous employers.
The date of the court case has not yet been decided.
