China sentences 3 to death for deadly hotel fire

BEIJING – Three people have been sentenced to death for setting fire to a bar that spread to a budget hotel in northeastern China, killing 11 people and leaving two others severely injured.

Xinhua News Agency said a court in Jilin province convicted five people of arson Saturday. Three were given the death sentence.

Xinhua said the Tonghua city court found that the suspects had set fire to a basement bar in the early hours of May 1 because they were in dispute with its owner.

But the fire spread to a karaoke bar and upstairs to guest rooms belonging to the hotel owned by Home Inns, China’s biggest budget hotel operator.

Xinhua said the 11 victims included hotel guests and firefighters. The fire, it added, caused about 1.8 million yuan ($280,000) in losses.