Due to not being allowed to go out with his girlfriend to get hearing aids, an elderly man set fire to a senior citizen’s care centre in Padang Besar, Perlis.

According to a report by Harian Metro, Padang Besar District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Mohd Shokri Abdullah, said that initial investigations found that the care centre housed 20 senior citizens, one of whom is believed to have started the fire at about 8:31 AM yesterday (August 14).

“A review of the closed-circuit camera at the care centre found that the fire was believed to have been started by one of the 81-year-old male residents. The suspect is believed to have started the fire from a cupboard in the care centre’s kitchen, causing it to spread to the main hall, burning part of the space,”

“The fire destroyed 50% of the hall,” he said.

He wanted to go out with his girlfriend

Further investigations later revealed that the motive for the fire was that the suspect was dissatisfied with the care centre’s caretaker for not allowing him to go out to get hearing aids with his girlfriend.

“The suspect is believed to be unhappy with the caretaker of the care centre because he was not allowed to go to Kangar to get hearing aids with his girlfriend, who is also a resident of the centre,”

“Therefore, the Perlis Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) and forensics from the Perlis Police Contingent Headquarters have been called to assist in the investigation. The amount of the loss is still being investigated,” he added.

The suspect has since been detained before being released on police bail, with the case being investigated under Section 435 of the Penal Code.

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