The Carlton Barber's Shop fire was an act of mass murder that killed twenty people and injured seven others in the Carlton Barber's Shop (Chinese: 卡爾登理容院), a massage parlor in Taipei, Taiwan on May 12, 1993. The perpetrator, 52-year-old Liang Hsin-teng (Chinese: 梁興登), had an argument with the shop's owner. He set himself on fire and the blaze spread to the other levels of the shop and killed most of the victims by asphyxiation.[1][2][3]
| Carlton Barber's Shop fire | |
|---|---|
| Location | Taipei, Taiwan |
| Date | May 12, 1993 |
| Target | Carlton Barber's Shop |
Attack type | Arson, mass murder |
| Deaths | 21 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 7 |
| Perpetrators | Liang Hsin-teng |
Arson
editOn May 12, 1993, Liang, who operated an illegal lottery, had an argument with the shop's owner about the payment of NT$700,000 in gambling debt. When the shop's owner refused to pay, Liang doused himself with gasoline and, shouting curses, set himself on fire in the basement of the establishment, which occupied three levels of a 12-storey building on Songjiang Road (松江路). The blaze quickly spread to the two other levels of the shop, asphyxiating most of the victims. The parlor had been repeatedly warned by police in the preceding months that it was violating safety regulations.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
References
edit- ^ Suicide in Taiwan turns into slaughter, The News-Journal (May 13, 1993)
- ^ Man sets self on fire, killing 21 in Taiwan, Toledo Blade (May 13, 1993)
- ^ Suicide fire kills 21 in massage parlor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (May 13, 1993)
- ^ 21 Die in Taiwan Fire[dead link], Los Angeles Times (May 13, 1993)
- ^ Briefs - Debt sparked fire killed 21, The Philadelphia Inquirer (May 13, 1993)
- ^ Self immolation starts fire that in Taiwan that kills 20, The Boca Raton News (May 13, 1993)
- ^ Taiwan: 21 people killed in a fire at a massage parlour after a man doused himself with petrol and set himself ablaze, itnsource.com (May 12, 1993)
- ^ 21 killed, 7 hurt in fire at Taipei massage parlour, The Straits Times (May 14, 1993)
- ^ Human torch sets fire to shop, The New Paper (May 13, 1993)
Further reading
edit民國82年男子自焚討債 21人命喪卡爾登, cts.com.tw (March 7, 2011)