Despite minor fire damage to the room and a settlement reached with the motel, the man was brought to justice for violating public safety.

On May 31, the man surnamed Lin, who worked as a delivery worker at a local frozen company, reserved a room in Fengshang Motel located in Taishan Township, Taipei County to celebrate the anniversary of his first meeting with his girlfriend, the paper said.

To create a surprise, Lin bought some aluminum-coated candles that featured smoke-free properties and arranged two letters — I and U — with a heart shape in between, in the carpeted room before leaving to pick up his girlfriend surnamed Lu in Sanchung City.

Much to his surprise, Lin came back 40 minutes later with Lu only to find the entire room already on fire before notifying the motel staff and putting out the blaze. Lin was arrested by the police later and brought to trial.

No serious fire damage or casualties were reported, according to the police. After the incident, however, Lin assumed responsibility for the blaze and reached a settlement with the motel at a compensatory payment of NT$120,000.

The paper said that Lin was reportedly a married man with two children in Banciao City, although he had separated with his wife and signed a divorce agreement.

After considering Lin’s regretful behavior, the Banciao District Prosecutors Office decided to suspend his indictment yesterday on conditions that Lin should submit a letter of repentance and donate NT$30,000 to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families.

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