Ky and his accomplice, 13-year-old La Van Khuon, were found out a week after their act of arson at night the previous Saturday.

In the afternoon the same day Ky had been reprimanded by his form teacher for not being able to recite lessons and talking in class, according to the district police. The teacher also wrote down Ky’s wrongdoings in his class report.

After class Ky and La went out drinking at a bar near the school and at around 8pm, broke into the school council’s room to find the class report and his school report, but failed.

At around 11.30 p.m. the boys came back again with three liters of petrol, the police said.

They poured the petrol into the principal’s office from its roof and started fire which later took local firefighters one hour to put out.

The fire critically damaged the principal’s office and the nearby equipment room together with hundreds of books, among other things.

Reported by Bui Ngoc Long – Minh Phuong