MIRI: Apparently being rejected in love, a 30-year-old man ran amok and burned a heat treatment centre on the ground floor of a shop building in Desa Murni here, yesterday.
The incident which took place around 12.30 pm caused a woman, who was one of the trainers at the centre, to suffer injury after a struggle with the man.
A witness in his late 40s said that during the incident, some 20 masseuses were listening to a lecture delivered by a trainer when they were approached by a man with an axe.
“The trainers asked the man to leave the premises but he refused. He ran amok while wielding the axe, causing the masseuses to escape in fear,” said the witness when met at the scene.
For nearly 30 minutes, he said, some of the trainers were trying to calm him down but failed to do so. The man then burned the office room at the premises.
According to him, the man was believed to be suffering from a mental disorder. He had often visited the treatment centre and had expressed his love for one of the trainers there but his love was rejected.
Meanwhile, Miri Zone Fire and Rescue Department Head, Law Poh Kiong said a team of firefighters from Lopeng and Miri Fire went to the scene after receiving an emergency call at 12.46 pm.
“Firefighters who arrived at the scene took three minutes to control the fire.
“The fire destroyed 20 per cent of the office room in the premise and also a washing machine,” he said in a statement.
“The man has been arrested by the police for further action,” he said.
He said the actual cause of the fire and the amount of loss was still under investigation.
