Fire toll rises to 17

HONG KONG - The death toll from a Hong Kong karaoke bar blaze rose to 17 yesterday when a teenage girl died in hospital. Police believe Saturday's blaze, at the Top One karaoke nightclub in Kowloon peninsula's Tsimshntsui entertainment district, was caused by a petrol bomb and linked to a turf war between rival "triad" crime gang protection rackets. A court has ordered five suspects aged between 17 and 27, charged with murder in connection with the blaze, to remain in custody.