A Taiwanese woman faces the death penalty for setting the island's deadliest fire in decades in an attempt to avenge her cheating boyfriend, AFP reported.

The fire raged for hours on several floors of a dilapidated 13-story apartment building in the southern city of Kaohsiung, killing 46 people.

Authorities said the fire started when a resident known as Huang left unextinguished incense ash on a sofa before leaving the building.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Huang, 51, with murder and arson and said she should be sentenced to death for arson to avenge her boyfriend.

Huang intended to light a fire to cause an incident and embarrass her boyfriend, resulting in a major disaster and the deaths of many innocent people, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Some 35 prisoners have been executed since 2010 when Taiwan resumed executions after a four-year hiatus.

Government has promised to phase out executions, but there have been two executions since she was elected in 2016. There are currently 38 prisoners on death row, including one woman.