Man sets himself on fire over lover’s spat

KUCHING: A fiery spat is believed to be the reason a 24year-old man set himself on fire at his lover’s home in Kampung Sageng, Simunjan yesterday.

Dousing himself with petrol taken from his own motorcycle, the man set himself alight only to cause a commotion.

Nearby villagers responded quickly by dousing the fire with water before it could cause further damage.

According to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), a team from the Simunjan station was called to the scene around 9.42am by the Simunjan district police informing them of the incident.

Despite his injuries, the man was reported to have returned home on his motorcycle.

The firemen led by their operations commander PBK II Trajudin Mail arrived at the man’s house to find the man suffering from 30 per cent burns on his body and arms.

He was taken to Simunjan Hospital for treatment.

Bomba personnel also went to the house at Kampung Sageng to conduct further investigation. They found only a scorched floor mat where the man had set himself on fire.

In an unrelated incident, the Kota Samarahan Bomba rushed to Kampung Tambey, Asajaya where an overhead electrical cable was seen to be on fire around 11.12am by members of the public yesterday.