Guesthouse probe found no trace of arson

THERE was no trace of arson in a guesthouse fire in which three people died, the Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

There had been suspicion that the fire, which occurred in Loy Loy Apartments at Yue Man Square, Kwun Tong, on August 5 last year, was caused by triads involved in extortion.

Decorator Chan Kwok-wing, 32, caretaker Wong Ching, 59, and a Thai woman, Thammakro-Arj Somjai, 38, believed to have been a cleaner, died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Wong and Thammakro-Arj also inhaled cyanide produced by burning furniture.

Coroner's officer Kevin Browne said suspicions were aroused when a second fire broke out in Lok Yuen Apartments, Ngau Tau Kok Road, owned by the same proprietors, a week later.

An electrical inspector from the Fire Services Department, Chan Wing-chi, said the cause of the Loy Loy guesthouse fire was not related to electrical failure or power overloading. He said no fire alarm system was installed on the premises.

A Senior Inspector with the Regional Anti-Triad Unit, Kowloon East, Christopher Potts, who has been in charge of the investigation during the past nine months, testified no trace of an accelerant was found in either fire.