Employee Accused of Burning Worth Chinese Restaurant After Meeting With Insurance Agent

An employee of Canton Express in Worth has been accused of .

Hui Zheng, 39, of Worth, was charged with arson and insurance fraud.

He appeared in court Tuesday morning before Judge Joan O’Brien, who set bond at $50,000.

Prosecutors said Zheng — following an alleged burglary at the Chinese restaurant on Dec. 29, in which part of the floor was burned — was told by an insurance agent that only food supplies contaminated by gasoline would be reimbursed in a claim.

Zheng was then seen at the Citgo gas station down the street filling a white gas can that was later used to ignite the Canton Express kitchen, prosecutors said.

A witness on a neighboring apartment balcony allegedly saw Zheng take off in his car after the restaurant roof exploded.

Zheng, according to prosecutors, called police from his car and was arrested later that night.

Because of severe structural damage, a demolition crew was immediately called to aid the building's collapse. The restaurant was closed at the time, and no injuries were reported.

Worth detectives in charge of the investigation could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

A Chinese immigrant, Zheng has been living in the United States for two decades and worked most recently at the family restaurant, said Arthur Porto, his attorney.

He was living inside the restaurant at the time of the fire, Porto said.

Court records show that, in recent years, charges of domestic assault and domestic battery have been pressed and dropped against him.

Two female members of his family were present in court and paid $5,000 to get him released from jail.

An interpreter for the family said they would not be commenting on the charges at this time.