Nguyen Van Nhu, 28, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon while trying to flee after setting fire to a house in Luu Huu Phuoc Street, Ward 15.
Police reports said that Nhu, in the uniform of an app-based motorbike taxi driver, drove a bike carrying 20 litres of suspected petrol to the house at Lane 260, Luu Huu Phuoc Street at 4.30 pm on November 21.
He made a phone call, and then a person opened the door. He came in and stabbed a 32-year-old woman to death. Then he spilt petrol on the floor, set the house on fire, and ran away.
Some neighbours saw smoke coming from the house and rushed in to help extinguish the fire while others called the police who came to control the fire after 30 minutes.
Police then found the woman, her three-year-old daughter and two-year-old niece dead inside the house.
Nhu was arrested about 30 minutes later by some local people and police officers while fleeing on a motorbike some five kilometres from the scene.
At the police station, Nhu said that he wanted to kill the woman following a lover’s quarrel.
