Taichung: A 64-year-old man has been detained and held incommunicado on suspicion of starting a house fire that killed his former landlord and her daughter in Taichung early Monday, authorities said.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taichung prosecutors stated that the Taichung District Court had approved their request to detain the man, surnamed Hsu, on suspicion of murder due to the grave nature of the crime and the potential risk of him fleeing, colluding with witnesses, or destroying evidence.

In the incident, the Taichung Fire Department reported receiving a call at 2:15 a.m. on Monday about a fire at a residence on Wuguang Road in the city's Wuri District. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered a 50-year-old woman and her 17-year-old daughter inside the burnt-out home in a state of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Both were later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Taichung police investigating the case noted that a van without license plates, belonging to Hsu, was found severely damaged at the scene. Hsu had been a tenant of a property owned by the victims' family for over 20 years but was served an eviction notice by the family in July.

A family member of the landlord identified Hsu as a suspect to the police, suggesting that the contentious nature of his eviction might have led him to cause the fire. Additionally, the landlord's family had taken legal action against Hsu before the incident, accusing him of sexually harassing the deceased teenage victim, according to police reports.

Hsu was arrested at 4:20 a.m. on Monday after his daughter contacted the police to report that her father had attempted to take his own life. Following a preliminary investigation, Hsu was transferred to the custody of Taichung prosecutors, who received permission on Tuesday to hold him in pre-charge detention.

Police on Monday indicated that Hsu was suspected of ramming his van into the victims' home, although they have not yet explained how he allegedly set the fire that resulted in their deaths.