Worker sets fire to boss’s restaurant

A Sichuan Province man has been arrested for burning down his employer's restaurant in Songjiang district to cover up the theft of 50 yuan ($8.21) and a dog, local prosecutors said Friday.



The suspect, surnamed Xie, started working in the restaurant's kitchen after he came to Shanghai at the end of last year, according to a press release from the Songjiang District People's Prosecutor's Office.



On September 26, Xie took 30 yuan from the cashier without permission, earning him a rebuke from his boss, prosecutors said.



Three days later, he returned to the restaurant after having a drink to get back at his boss. He stole 50 yuan and the boss's dog, a golden retriever.



After getting away, it occurred to Xie that he might have been seen by restaurant's surveillance camera. Afraid that he might get caught, he returned to the kitchen, turned on the gas and set fire to the restaurant.



Neighbors smelled the smoke and called the fire department, which quickly got the fire under control. The prosecutor's office pointed out that the fire would have been disastrous if it had spread to the cooking gas tanks in the kitchen.



The prosecutor's office plans to charge Xie with arson.



