In late June 2017, a week after a notorious blaze swept the London apartment building Greenfell Tower, a family home inside a high-rise luxury residential complex in east China’s Hangzhou city was allegedly set on fire by their stay-home nanny, resulting in four deaths - three of whom were children.
The news swept quickly across the internet saddening people across China and gained over 51 million views of the hashtag #Hangzhou Nanny Burned Luxury Apartment on major Chinese social platform Weibo within the first two days after the incident.
Hangzhou apartment on fire with heavy smoke coming out from the balcony Source: Sohu
Tragic Fire Incident Unfold
Local police department reported that a call was received by Hangzhou Fire Brigade at 5:07am, June 22 that the compound on level 18 of the luxury apartment building ‘Blue Qianjiang’.
Mother Ms Zhu and her three children were discovered inside the apartment after the fire was put out at 6:48am. Despite rescue efforts, Ms Zhu and her nine year-old daughter were pronounced death at 9:39am, followed by the passing of the two boys, aged 11 and six, at 10:45 am.
The police report also confirmed the fire was set deliberately and the family’s stay-home nanny, Ms Mo, 24, is the main suspect and has been detained.
Mr Lin shared a cartoon made by netizens dedicated to his deceased family members Source: Mr Lin's Weibo
Father Mr Lin was on a business trip in south China’s Guangdong Province at the time of the fire.
Netizens Show Support to Family on Social Media
Photos shared online showing the heartbreaking scene of Mr Lin at his wife and three children’s memorial service saddened China. Local residents held a vigil and lit candles for the victims outside the burned apartment building.
Lin and Zhu run a profitable children’s clothing business that is named after their three children. They reportedly hired Mo through a housekeeping agency in Shanghai a year ago and offered her an affluent monthly salary.
A photo from the memorial service Source: Mr Lin's Weibo
Hangzhou Daily said that the mother spotted the fire first and asked Mo to seek help. Instead of calling for assistance, Mo escaped the fire herself and survived.
A report by China’s Xinhua News Agency said that Mo had gambling problems and was deep in debt. Mo’s former mother-in-law confirmed she had stolen money from her family to gamble. Mo left her hometown Dongguan, Guangdong Province in 2013 and never got back in touch with her family.
Nanny Mo detained by local police Source: Sina
On June 23, Mr Lin started an account on Weibo named ‘Wife and Children in Heaven’ to post updates of the case and share his longing for his lost family.
He gained more than nearly a million followersthe day of the report. Many wrote encouraging words to him and also expressed anger towards various parties involved in the case.
Public Discussion on Tighten Regulations
Just as London's Greenfell fire sparked calls for tighter regulation of the building industry, so too did this high-profile arson case spark a heated public discussion on China’s housekeeping industry.
Xinhua (Chinese news agency) said that simply acquiring candidates’ Identity Card numbers (a mandatory official identity document for all residents in China) is far from sufficient in vetting qualified housekeepers. Some families resolved to install a CCTV system at home in the hope of holding nannies’ behaviour accountable.
Netizens are calling for measures to ensure the physical and mental health, as well as good records of work history for housekeepers.
On a separate report, Xinhua has also reported that material used in building high-rise buildings and safety precautions by property management companies should also be improved. Many social media commentators on Weibo had questioned the property management company GreenTown of ‘not rescuing victims in time’ and ‘not conducting regular check of fire alarm system and fire hydrant’.
A recent post on Mr Lin’s Weibo account is a public letter on July 9 claiming that Green Town is trying to ‘buy silence’ from him and ‘accusing him of seeking financial gain from the death of his wife and children’.
Lin's apartment after fire Source: Mr Lin's Weibo
Mr Lin issued a public letter through his lawyer on July 12, confirming with help of his friends he will set up a fund named after his wife and three children. The fund will promote a good selection process of housekeepers and the use of fire-preventing materials in high-rise buildings.
