Singer Duy Manh sued Mercedes-Benz Vietnam because he thought the company's conclusion about the cause of the fire in his S450L luxury car worth more than 5 billion VND was unreasonable.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•27/04/2025
Video : Singer Duy Manh's Mercedes-Benz S450L worth over 5 billion "suddenly caught fire".
On the evening of February 15, 2023, male singer Duy Manh attracted attention when he posted a picture of a 5 billion VND Mercedes-Benz luxury car on fire in the basement of an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City. It is known that male singer Duy Manh sued Mercedes-Benz Vietnam because he thought the company's conclusion about the cause of the fire was unreasonable.
According to Duy Manh, due to his performance schedule, his lawyer will represent him to attend the trial on April 25, 2025 at the People's Court of Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. About 2-3 weeks before, the court called both parties to reconcile but was unsuccessful.
Duy Manh's luxury car worth over 5 billion VND caught fire: the male singer sued Mercedes-Benz (photo: FBNV).
More specifically, at the time of the fire, Duy Manh's Mercedes-Benz S450 Luxury, which he bought in 2020, was parked, the engine was off, and the doors were locked. Therefore, the apartment security guard could not open the hood to put out the fire. The security guard had to use a crowbar to pry open the hood of the car and spray water to put out the fire.
The apartment building management board then called the police. After handling the fire, the authorities sealed the S-Class at the police parking lot in Thu Duc City. Duy Manh said that a month later, the police determined that the car had caught fire due to an electrical short circuit.
After the police's conclusion, the insurance company compensated the male singer 2.9 billion VND. When re-examined, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam said that the cause of the fire was rodents because there was rat droppings and garbage in the car. Unsatisfied with this conclusion, the singer of Kiep Do Den decided to file a lawsuit.
Authorities at the scene of the fire (photo: FBNV)
By the evening of April 22, 2025, responding to the press, a representative of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam said that "the mouse is criminally responsible" was not the company's official statement. In addition, the company did not authorize any individual or organization to represent the company to make the above statement.
According to Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, when the fire broke out, the company, the distributor and related parties conducted an inspection to determine the cause of the incident with the participation of domestic and foreign technical experts, under the witness of the car owner. The company confirmed that the cause of the fire was due to rodent intrusion, not a technical defect of the car. "This conclusion is similar to the assessment of the car's insurance company, so the insurance company agreed to pay compensation according to regulations," Mercedes-Benz Vietnam said.
Currently, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam cannot provide any further information other than the above comments because the incident is still following the legal process.
The incident of singer Duy Manh's Mercedes-Benz luxury car on fire has sparked much controversy surrounding the question: If a car that is considered modern, under warranty, can catch fire while parked and turn off completely, who is responsible?
In principle, car manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products are safe under normal conditions of use. Meanwhile, external factors such as animals entering the engine compartment are common situations but are usually not covered by manufacturers' warranties.
As no agreement was reached at the conciliation session, the Court scheduled an official hearing for April 25. The case continues to attract public attention, not only because of the value of the assets involved but also because of the legal issues, product warranties, and responsibilities between the car company, consumers, and related parties.
This fire could become an important precedent to clarify the rights and obligations of consumers in cases of technical accidents involving high-tech products such as cars.
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