Prosecutors from Wenling city in Zhejiang province approved the arrest of the suspect they say set fire to a residential house in February, killing eight and injuring 17 others.

An initial investigation found that the fire was arson. Lin Binwei, 26, a resident of Zeguo township of Wenling, has been arrested.

Authorities said on March 6 that Lin had a dispute with an online-store operator named Liu, who lived at the building. Lin allegedly set fire to Liu's apartment on Feb 23.

Xinhua quoted a witness as saying three houses caught fire, and they were being rented by two shopkeepers of an online store, which sold women's shoes.

The investigation of the case is continuing.