On the evening of February 15, 2023, Vietnamese singer Duy Manh made headlines when he posted a photo of his luxury car, worth over $200,000, engulfed in flames while parked in an underground garage of an apartment building in Ho Chi Minh City. Duy Manh has since filed a lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, deeming their conclusion regarding the cause of the fire as unreasonable.
According to the singer, due to his performance schedule, his lawyer will represent him in court on April 25, 2025, at the People’s Court of Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. Prior to this, the court had attempted to mediate between the two parties, but the negotiations were unsuccessful.
At the time of the incident, Duy Manh’s Mercedes-Benz S450 Luxury, purchased in 2020, was parked, turned off, and locked. As a result, the apartment building security guard was unable to open the hood to extinguish the fire. They had to use a crowbar to force it open and spray water to put out the flames.
The apartment management then called the police, who arrived to handle the situation. The charred S-Class was subsequently sealed and taken to a police compound in Thu Duc City. A month later, the authorities determined that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit.
Authorities at the Scene of the Fire (Photo: FBNV)
Following the police conclusion, the insurance company compensated Duy Manh with $1.2 million. However, upon re-inspection, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam attributed the cause of the fire to rodents, citing the presence of mouse droppings and garbage inside the vehicle. Disagreeing with this assessment, the singer of Kiep Do Den decided to take legal action.
On the evening of April 22, 2025, in response to inquiries from VnExpress, a representative of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam stated that the comment, “the mouse is criminally responsible,” was not an official statement from the company. Furthermore, they did not authorize any individual or organization to make such statements on their behalf.
Mercedes-Benz Vietnam explained that when the fire occurred, the company, along with its distributors and related parties, conducted an investigation into the cause of the incident with the participation of domestic and foreign technical experts, and in the presence of the car owner. They asserted that the fire was caused by rodent intrusion and not due to any technical fault of the vehicle. “This conclusion aligns with the assessment of the car’s insurance company, which is why they agreed to provide compensation as per the regulations,” the company stated.
Currently, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam cannot provide further information beyond these statements as the matter is still undergoing legal proceedings.
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