A man has been detained after he allegedly set fire to the hall of a town government building yesterday over a lease dispute in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province.

The man surnamed Xie, head of Yongcheng Food Service Co in Jiaxing, reportedly drove a van with a canister of gasoline into the hall of Wangdian Town government building and lit the gas at about 8am yesterday, Zhejiang Online (zjol.com.cn) reported.

The fire was soon put out by firefighters and the suspect was caught at the scene.

No one was injured in the incident, the website reported.

According to the website, Yongcheng has rented a 690-square-meter space in Jiaxing Modern Logistics Zone to run an eatery since July 1, 2010. The lease ended on September 31, 2011, according to the contract.

After the contract was terminated, the company renewed the lease for one more year starting from January 1, 2012, but it didn't pay rent according to the contract.

The owner of the eatery space sued the company on August 6 and the court ruled the contract should be terminated effective July 31. The court also ruled the company owed 20,000 yuan in rent and penalties for breach of contract and it should immediately vacate the premises, the website said.

Xie was reported to be unsatisfied with the court decision. Police officers are still investigating the case.

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