Taoyuan man ordered to pay after Carrefour fire
AM730 · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A Taoyuan District Court ruling has ordered a 22-year-old man surnamed Kuo to pay NT$398 million in compensation after he set off a major fire inside Carrefour's Chungyuan store in Taoyuan in December 2023 . The court said the blaze began after he used a lighter to ignite insecticide spray while shopping with two friends in the store's basement cleaning-products section . The fire spread rapidly, damaged large parts of the supermarket, and forced the outlet to suspend operations for nearly six months . In a separate criminal case, Kuo was sentenced to six months in prison, convertible to a fine, for negligently causing a fire in an occupied building .
Key Points
- The incident happened at about 3:30am on December 3, 2023, at Carrefour Chungyuan in Taoyuan, when Kuo and two friends were browsing the store .
- Kuo picked up an insecticide can in the basement cleaning aisle, ignited the spray with a lighter, and then put it back on the shelf .
- Residual flames did not go out, igniting other insecticide products and causing explosions that quickly spread the fire to more merchandise .
- Firefighters took several hours to bring the blaze under control; no one was injured, but walls, ceilings, and facilities on B1 and the ground floor were badly damaged .
- After paying Carrefour, eight insurers jointly filed a subrogation claim and won NT$398 million; another insurer also won nearly NT$980,000 over damage to a cafe in the shopping arcade .
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case is a stark reminder that reckless behaviour in large retail spaces can lead not only to criminal punishment but also to overwhelming civil liability . It also shows how insurers can pursue subrogation claims after paying out major fire losses, leaving an individual wrongdoer exposed to long-term financial consequences .