(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-27 15:07

HANGZHOU -- Local police in Wenzhou, a port city in East China's Zhejiang Province, have formally arrested a woman over a deadly fire that killed 21 people earlier this month.

Zhu Xiuling, the legal representative of the Duoduo Fresh Flower Horticulture Co Ltd, was arrested on Tuesday over an allegation of having committed a major crime that caused a labor security accident, said a source with the People's Procuratorate of Lucheng District, Wenzhou City.

In a prepared document, the procuratorate alleged that to meet the need for starting up the flower store, in May 2005 Zhu built a loft with a floor space of 400 square meters inside the shop she rented on the first floor of the 28-storey Wenfu Mansion, Lucheng District. She dismantled an indoor sprinkler system and smoke detectors that had previously been installed without having obtained a permit in advance. This formed a hidden safety danger and eventually led to the tragedy.

The fire broke out at about 8:27 am on December 12 in Zhu's flower shop. It killed two people in the store and 19 others on the second floor who were attending their morning exercise class in a ballroom.

Police detained three people shortly after the fire, including Zhu. It was still unknown whether or not two others, Wu Songdi, board chairman of the Duoduo Fresh Flower Horticulture Co Ltd, and Shao Yongsen, owner of the Yuanyuan Ballroom, would also be formally arrested and face criminal charges.

An initial investigation found that sparks from an electrical wire in the flower shop set wrapping paper and plastic flowers alight and started the fatal fire.

Rescuers safely evacuated 213 others who were initially trapped in the building where the bottom three floors were for commercial use and the rest for apartments.