MUKAH: A 31-year-old man first burnt down his longhouse and then fled to a nearby forest to attempt suicide.
As a result, Rumah Tinggang Anjang at Sungai Sebakong near here was razed to the ground in the wee hours of Friday morning, rendering all 36 occupants of the five-door longhouse homeless. Fortunately, there was no fatality and not one person was hurt.
It is believed that the suspect slit his own neck with a knife but did not die so he was taken to Mukah Hospital, said Mukah police chief, DSP Jimmy Panyau.
“The suspect’s wife, Senorita Igang, said she saw her husband pouring petrol on the floor of their living room behind door number four and set it on fire. After that, her husband ran out to the forest near the longhouse,” he said.
Senorita also said that she and her husband had no marital problems and so she could not understand why he acted strangely.
The fire case is being investigated under Section 435 of the Penal Code, when the suicide attempt is investigated under Section 309 of the Penal Code.
