Two years after the gas explosion accident at the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant in Yinchuan, Ningxia, on May 30, the actual operator of the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant, along with 14 others, including personnel from a liquefied petroleum gas testing agency, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 1 year for charges of major responsibility accident or providing false certification. Many netizens questioned the leniency of the verdict.
On June 21, 2023, at around 8:40 p.m., a gas explosion occurred at the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant in Xingqing District, Yinchuan City. Local reports indicated that the accident resulted in 38 injuries, with 31 fatalities and 7 people injured. Following the incident, the legal representative of the restaurant, Ma Yunlin, along with the actual controlling shareholders Zhang Hongxian, Liu Guo, and the store manager Suo Shanfu, among others, were detained, and their assets were frozen.
According to a report from the “Yinchuan Release” WeChat public account, on the morning of May 30 this year, the Xingqing District Court in Yinchuan issued the first-instance verdict on this “6·21” particularly significant gas explosion case. Zhang Hongxian, Liu Guo, and 12 others were accused of violating gas safety management regulations during production and operation, leading to a major responsibility accident, constituting a crime of major responsibility accident; while Zhou Zhiguo and two others from Ningxia Guohua Testing Technology Co., Ltd., were accused of providing false certification documents as personnel of a liquefied petroleum gas testing agency, resulting in a crime of providing false certification documents. The 15 individuals were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 1 year, with three of the defendants being prohibited from engaging in related occupations for a certain period, and the three frontline employees with lesser charges being given suspended sentences. The accused individuals admitted guilt and did not appeal in court.
The verdict has sparked discussion online, with many netizens expressing dissatisfaction, saying, “It took two years to reach a verdict.” “Only 6 years for over 30 deaths.” “The deceased cannot rest in peace, just having a meal and encountering such a major responsibility accident.” “The lives of so many people, and only a few individuals held accountable? This seems too lenient.”
As previously reported, the Fuyang Barbecue Restaurant was a well-known barbecue establishment in the area, and the incident occurred during a peak dining period. About an hour before the explosion, employees had already smelled gas but did not organize the evacuation of customers. After the explosion, the restaurant’s fire escape routes and stairs to the first floor were destroyed. The windows on the second floor facing the street were blocked by a steel signboard that was bolted and welded, causing those inside the second-floor KTV to be trapped with little chance to escape, leading to most suffocating and dying.
Regarding the cause of the explosion, according to the official accident investigation report, it was due to a gas distribution company illegally delivering “double-valve bottles” with gas-phase valves and liquid-phase valves to the barbecue restaurant. The staff mistakenly connected the gas-phase valve regulator to the liquid-phase valve and, upon noticing an issue, disassembled and installed the regulator without authorization, causing a leakage of liquefied petroleum gas. During disposal, they incorrectly opened the valves in the wrong direction, resulting in a large amount of gas spraying out and igniting due to an open flame in the kitchen. Additionally, the local relevant departments failed to perform their duties adequately, leading to the mismanagement and lack of control over gas safety, ultimately resulting in this major safety accident.
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