An Ipoh man, handcuffed and in police custody at a police station, managed to set himself on fire with the lighter in his pocket, police claim. By the time officers put the fire out, he had burns on over 90% of his body. He is now in critical condition at Raja Permaisure Bainun Hospital. No further information is available at this time.
Police chief Datuk Gan Tian Kee of Perak, a state less than 2 hours north of Kuala Lumpur, told The Star that the man had originally come to the station to lodge a police report. However, officers claim the man was drunk, and told him to go home and sober up. The man took offense and threatened to make the issue “viral on Facebook” (well, there’s still potential for that).
The ensuing series of events that catalogue how a man in police custody came out with burns over most of his body are, frankly, a bit hard to believe.
Police claim that the man, whose hands were bound, was able to pull the lighter from his pocket, and self-immolate. This is genuinely no easy feat, unless he was wearing head-to-toe silk, and dipped in lighter fluid. Realizing the man was on fire, police then un-cuffed him (really? That’s your first thought?) and put out the flames using water from a nearby tap.
Funny, you would think that after noticing a man up in flames at your work, you might just reach for the fire extinguisher, before things get out of hand. And not, you know, fiddle with handcuffs while a man is on fire, and then put it out using teh tarik cups and tap water.
Maybe that’s just me!
While the man’s family have demanded answers from police as to how this could happen, police have reiterated that the man arrived at the station drunk, pushed a policeman, and set himself on fire (as one does). Chief Gan Tian Kee also added that the man had a machete on his motorbike, and a past criminal record that included drug offenses.
A police report against the police has been lodged in an attempt to get an explanation that makes sense. Good luck.
