| James Kon & Fadley Faisal |
ARSON caused the fire which broke out at Halimatul Saadiah building in Gadong commercial area during the wee hours of Wednesday, police said yesterday.
A local man was charged in the Magistrate’s Court with setting fire to one of the wooden stalls on the ground floor of the building.
The suspect, 57-year-old Haji Ahmad bin Haji Tamin, is alleged to have set fire to the vendor booth inside the building at 2.15am on April 4, 2018.
DPP Nurul Fitri binti Kiprawi’s charge against the defendant under Section 435 of the Penal Code, Chapter 22, carries a penalty of up to 15 years’ imprisonment and six whippings.
Acting Chief Magistrate Pengiran Masni binti Pengiran Haji Bahar adjourned the case to April 17, 2018 for the police to complete investigations into the case.
Photos and a video of the incident had gone viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
Details of the suspect were revealed in a press conference held at the Bandar Seri Begawan Central Police Station by Superintendent of Police Pengiran Haji Abdul Salam bin Pengiran Haji Abdul Ghani, Acting Officer Commanding Police District (OCPD) of Brunei-Muara.
Also in attendance were Deputy Superintendent of Police Hamydon bin Ibrahim, Acting Deputy OCPD of Brunei-Muara and Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohd Hassanul Fikri bin Haji Abdullah, Brunei-Muara Police District’s Criminal Investigation Officer.
The suspect was detained after evidence pointing to arson was collected by the Brunei-Muara Police District.
“The suspect has revealed that he went to the building in a car and had carried kerosene with the intent to set fire to one of the wooden stalls to unleash his anger as he had felt hurt by one of the owners of the stall,” Superintendent of Police Pengiran Haji Abdul Salam said.
“The suspect is of sound mind and knew what he has done,” the official said.
The case is being investigated under Section 436, Chapter 22 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that it is a treacherous act to set fire to a building knowing that the act can cause destruction to it, and the offender, if found guilty, can be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Forty-seven residents comprising nationals from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines were staying in the building when the fire occurred. One of them suffered head injury, a broken collarbone and chest pain.
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