81-year-old man in Malaysia sets nursing home on fire over denied request, burns down half of assembly hall
An elderly man in Malaysia set his nursing home on fire after his request to go out with a female friend was rejected.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
The incident started at 8am on 14 Aug in the town of Padang Besar on the border with Thailand.
Elderly man set his own bed on fire with fuel jug
According to Sin Chew Daily, a woman named Ms Zhong (transliterated) was scheduled to drive the 81-year-old man to a hospital in Kangar to pick up his hearing aid.
However, the man requested to bring along his 72-year-old female friend from the same nursing home. Ms Zhong refused this request as per the nursing home’s regulations.
The elderly man subsequently went to the storage room and retrieved a jug of fuel meant for the lawnmower. He also took a lighter from the kitchen and set the kitchen cabinets on fire.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
Afterwards, the man poured the fuel onto his own bed and set it on fire. A resident at the nursing home managed to put it out with a fire extinguisher at around 8.15am.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
The suspected arsonist then moved into an assembly hall and started a blaze there as well.
Elderly man released on bail after police questioning
Firefighters rushed to the scene at 8.30pm and successfully had the fire under control an hour later, with half of the hall burnt. The fire did not cause any casualties.
The nursing home estimated damages to be RM250,000 (S$76,000), including the kitchen cabinets, over 200 chairs, a hospital bed, and six air conditioners worth around S$6,000 each.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
CCTV footage captured the suspect performing the arson. The police took him to the station to record his statement, but released him on bail at around 4pm.
Following the incident, the nursing home kicked the elderly man and his female friend out.
Police investigations are currently ongoing.
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Featured image adapted from Sin Chew Daily.
