Landlord charged in blaze which left four family members dead
By JON WILLING,
Ottawa Sun (Candada)
An emotional Makara Thach dabbed tears from his eyes as he recalled the night five of his family members perished in a horrific downtown blaze.
Thach, 56, was the first witness called at the trial of Hing Gee Tom. Tom, the landlord of the building where the fire happened, is charged with failing to install a smoke alarm between each sleeping area and the remainder of the building, contrary to the Ontario Fire Code. A Cantonese interpreter has been translating the hearing for Tom. Also charged is Ngan Po Tom.
Thach's wife, Kol Yan Keo, their daughter, Thichanda, and sons Gary Danny and Sunny died in the fire on April 5 of 2005.
Thach told the court of his family's move from Cambodia, first to Montreal, and then to Ottawa where he dreamed of opening a grocery store.
He said he had a problem with the landlord who wouldn't fix a leak.
"He would never show up," said Thach.
Both the prosecution and the defence agreed there was no evidence of smoke alarms.
But defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said a smoke alarm probably would not have saved any lives. He said the defence theory is that the fire might have started by candles and not by an electrical problem.
jon.willing@ott.sunpub.com
By JON WILLING,
Ottawa Sun (Candada)
An emotional Makara Thach dabbed tears from his eyes as he recalled the night five of his family members perished in a horrific downtown blaze.
Thach, 56, was the first witness called at the trial of Hing Gee Tom. Tom, the landlord of the building where the fire happened, is charged with failing to install a smoke alarm between each sleeping area and the remainder of the building, contrary to the Ontario Fire Code. A Cantonese interpreter has been translating the hearing for Tom. Also charged is Ngan Po Tom.
Thach's wife, Kol Yan Keo, their daughter, Thichanda, and sons Gary Danny and Sunny died in the fire on April 5 of 2005.
Thach told the court of his family's move from Cambodia, first to Montreal, and then to Ottawa where he dreamed of opening a grocery store.
He said he had a problem with the landlord who wouldn't fix a leak.
"He would never show up," said Thach.
Both the prosecution and the defence agreed there was no evidence of smoke alarms.
But defence lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said a smoke alarm probably would not have saved any lives. He said the defence theory is that the fire might have started by candles and not by an electrical problem.
jon.willing@ott.sunpub.com
1 comment:
We cannot blame everything to the landlord. This irresposibility tenant must find their own karma by ignoring their own responsibility.
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