A woman from North Korea is facing a possible jail term after failing to save the portraits of Kim Jong Il and other photos of the communist country’s past and present leaders during a house fire. It was said that the woman saved her children first but this apparently led her to trouble.

The Daily Mail reported that the unnamed mother is currently being investigated by the country’s Ministry of State Security. Based on the details gathered, the fire broke out in a home in Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea and two families are living there. The parents were not home when the fire started but they rushed back to get their children out after hearing about the incident.

The blaze destroyed one set of photos of the ruling dictator Kim’s family as the parents’ focus was on getting their children out of the burning home. Now the mother is facing charges for the neglect. She may have saved her children but since she ran out of time to save Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s photos, she has been brought to the authorities for investigation.

According to the Daily NK, the only news outlet in North Korea that was allowed to cover news, the woman is also in trouble for not being able to properly care for her injured children who suffered burns during the fire. They are in hospital and need medicines but she does not have enough money for it. It was said that her neighbors want to donate money for the medication but they are afraid to do so for fear that the authorities will charge them with political offense based on their laws.

This unfortunate case is related to an odd rule in North Korea where all the citizens are asked to display portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in their homes. This is required and to make sure that everyone followed this order, they send inspectors to check every house.

North Korean laws demand that the citizens should treat the photos of the Kim family as living humans and it is considered a crime if they failed to care for the portraits. Meanwhile, if the mother is found guilty for this fire incident, she is expected to be sentenced for long prison-term where she will have to endure hard labor as well.