Man indicted on attempted murder, arson charges
Advertiser Staff
An Oahu grand jury today indicted a man on one count of first-degree attempted murder in connection with a fire at a high-rise Chinatown apartment building June 2 that injured four people.
Zhan Hang Yu, 37, also was indicted on four counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree arson. His bail was set at $1 million.
Prosecutors charged Yu with first-degree attempted murder because they allege that he tried to kill more than one person. If convicted of the charge, he would face a mandatory prison term of life without the possibility of parole, the state’s harshest punishment.
Yu was arrested in connection with the 5:20 a.m. fire that displaced hundreds of residents of Kukui Tower at the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and Kukui Street. Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, including a 19-year-old man who suffered burns on his legs, police said.
Yu also suffered burns and was taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital for treatment.
Police said Yu had “domestic issues” with one or more of the residents in the apartment where the fire occurred, but did not elaborate on what those issues were. Yu's family members turned him in more than an hour after the fire was reported, police said.