Two die from arson over noise between floors

A house owner set fire to his own house where a tenant rented the bottom floor following after an argument over noise, claiming the lives of two people, police said Monday.

According to Incheon Bupyeong Police Station, the house owner, 72, lived on the second floor of the house in Incheon. He quarreled with the tenant, 51, who had made the noise by hitting a punching bag.

After a heated exchange, the owner set fire to the first floor in a fit of anger.

The fire burnt the first floor and smoke and fumes asphyxiated the tenant’s daughter and her boyfriend, who also lived in the house, as flames blocked the exits from the building, an officer said. The house owner reportedly sustained minor burns, while the tenant escaped injury.

The three had been living in the two-story house for 10 years, the officer added.