3-year sentence for B.C. man who set home on fire while his estranged wife, daughter were inside

Coquitlam Fire and Rescue crews were able to knock the flames down quickly, police said (Photo: Scott Connorton / CTV Vancouver).

A man who broke into the home where his estranged wife and adult daughter were sleeping, doused it in gasoline and set it on fire on the morning he was scheduled to appear in court on a domestic violence charge will spend another 11 months in jail.

Jin Ming Han has been in jail since he was arrested in October 2022. He pleaded guilty to one count of uttering threats and one count of arson with disregard for human life and was sentenced to three years, minus credit for time served, according to the decision posted online Tuesday.

The court heard that Han's wife broke her back when she jumped out of her second-floor bedroom window to escape. His adult daughter was not seriously hurt but was soaked in gasoline during a struggle with her father.

"The gravity of Mr. Han’s offence and his moral culpability are high. But for blind luck, Mr. Han’s daughter might have perished in the fire or suffered life-altering burns all over her body. But for blind luck, (his wife's) injuries might have been considerably worse. Mr. Han is fortunate that the consequences of his actions were not worse," Judge Nicholas Prevolos wrote.

The crimes

Han moved out of the family home in February 2022 after a significant period of "tension" in his nearly 30-year marriage, the decision says, noting that he was under financial strain and had become "increasingly withdrawn and depressed."

About a month after he left, during a conversation that his daughter recorded because she "became concerned," Han said he was "thinking about coming to the family home to kill" his wife, according to the decision.

The daughter called the police that day to report the threats but Han refused to tell anyone where he lived and refused to voluntarily come to the RCMP detachment. Over the next two weeks, Han sent his wife threatening messages and he was ultimately charged and released with conditions and a promise to appear in court.

On what would have been his next court date, he broke into the home and started the fire.

"The sound of shattering glass woke his daughter, who got out of bed and saw Mr. Han coming up the stairs to the second floor holding a 25-litre jerry can of gas. She alerted (her mother), who locked her bedroom door," Prevolos wrote, describing what unfolded.

"He began pouring gas at the top of the stairs and in front of Ms. Liu’s bedroom. His daughter tried to grab the jerry can from him but he resisted. In the struggle, both of them were soaked in gas. She managed to push him, causing him to fall down the stairs. Undeterred, Mr. Han came upstairs again and tried to start a fire in front of (his wife's) bedroom with a lighter. Mr. Han’s daughter gained control of the lighter and retreated to her bedroom, barricading herself in the room with furniture and locking the door. While in her room, she called 911."

Han's daughter would eventually kick out the screen of her bedroom window after smoke started seeping into her room, and was found by first responders on the roof of the home. Her mother was found hiding in the bushes.

Han drove away from the scene and went back to the rental unit where he was living. When police located him two days later – after issuing a public appeal for information – he was found with burns that required treatment in the ICU and "multiple surgeries," the decision said.

The sentence

The "profound" impact on Han's wife was one of the factors the judge considered aggravating in the case, noting that her injury continues to cause her pain and fatigue and interferes with her ability to do basic tasks. The damage to the home was significant and cost roughly $30,000 to repair.

"The psychological fall out has been long lasting. She feels safe from Mr. Han only because he is in jail. At the same time, she is forthright about being conflicted, acknowledging that she cares about him as her former partner of 30 years and recognizes that he was hurt by the fire too," the judge wrote, summarizing Han's wife's victim impact statement.

Other aggravating factors included the fact that Han was on bail at the time of the arson, and was prohibited from being at the home, that the crime involved planning, and that his motive was revenge.

"Mr. Han had multiple opportunities to reconsider his intended actions. He was initially confronted verbally and then physically by his daughter. Neither made him pause to reconsider – not even falling down the stairs after a struggle over the gas can with his daughter or the fact that his daughter was doused in gasoline and at risk of being set alight herself," Prevolos wrote, describing this as the "most aggravating" factor.

Mitigating factors included Han's guilty plea, the fact that he himself was seriously injured, that he had a mental illness at the time that was a contributing factor, and his lack of a criminal record.

The judge also said that Han took "partial responsibility" for his actions.

"While he demonstrates some insight into the wrongfulness of his actions in March and October 2022, he also made comments suggesting that there was a measure of justification as his wife had disposed of his possessions after he had honourably left both family homes to her," the decision says, quoting from an expert report.

In addition to the three-year sentence for arson, Han was sentenced to 14 days on the uttering threats charge, to be served concurrently. After his release, Han will be on probation for 30 months.