Police in Shanghai have arrested a jilted lover who allegedly lit a blaze in the city's Yuyuan garden which killed four people, the Shanghai Daily reported yesterday.
Mr He Xinsheng (54), apparently lit the fire under the door of his former mistress's apartment, sparking a blaze which also destroyed three residential buildings and adjacent shops, according to the report. The report said Mr He was also a convicted rapist.
Residents at the scene complained government agencies failed to act on earlier warnings about safety concerns over deteriorating housing conditions.
"I hate that arsonist, but local agencies should take more responsibility," said Ms Zhou Lunzhou, whose 94-year-old mother was among those killed in the fire. "We had asked the district housing authority to repair our building a thousand times but they just turned a deaf ear."