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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, June 11, 2009

Man faces life sentence if convicted in high-rise fire


Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Zhan Hang Yu

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An O'ahu grand jury yesterday indicted a man on one count of first-degree attempted murder in connection with a fire in a high-rise apartment building near Chinatown June 2 that injured four people.

Zhan Hang Yu, 37, also was indicted on four counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree arson. His bail was set at $1 million.

Prosecutors charged Yu with first-degree attempted murder because they allege that he tried to kill more than one person. If convicted of the charge, Yu would face a mandatory prison term of life without the possibility of parole, the state's harshest punishment.

Yu was arrested in connection with the 5:20 a.m. fire that displaced hundreds of residents of Kukui Tower, a 33-story building on the corner of Nu'uanu Avenue and Kukui Street. Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, including a 19-year-old man who also suffered burns on his legs, police said.

Yu also suffered burns and was taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital for treatment.

Police said Yu had "domestic issues" with one or more of the residents in the apartment where the fire occurred, but did not elaborate on what those issues were. Yu's family members turned him in more than an hour after the fire was reported, police said.

Police at the scene were told that a man had poured gasoline on the floor of an apartment on the 26th floor and lit it.

Four occupants of the apartment sought refuge in the back bedrooms until firefighters rescued them. The building's fire sprinklers helped contain the fire to that apartment. Damage was estimated at $70,000.