A British man was arrested for burning Chinese New Year (CNY) decorations hanging from the main door of a residential building in Rua de Pedro Coutinho on Friday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at a regular press conference on Monday.
The 30-year-old suspect surnamed Munro is a non-resident worker employed as a receptionist.
According to Lei, the Fire Services Bureau (CB) notified the Judiciary Police of an arson case in Rua de Pedro Coutinho on Friday morning. The firefighters informed the police that some decorations at the main door of a residential building had been burnt and they found the cause of the fire suspicious because of which they notified the police to follow up on the case.
According to Lei, a resident of the building reported to the police on the day of the incident that CNY decorations at the main door of the building had been damaged by fire. He also told the police that he saw a lighter and some leaflets lying in front of the building.
Thanks to CCTV footage, PJ officers discovered that the suspect was walking around the building in the early morning of that day. The footage also showed him removing leaflets from the building’s mail boxes and scattering them on the floor, after which he entered the building. Soon afterwards, passers-by saw a fire in front of the main door of the building and told a resident of the building about it who then called the police.
Lei said PJ officers identified Munro and arrested him in his flat in a building near the crime scene in the afternoon of the same day. Munro claimed that he had consumed a lot of alcohol on that day and therefore couldn’t remember anything.
Munro has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for follow-up investigation, facing an arson charge, according to Lei.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei poses during a regular press conference at a Public Security Police (PSP) press room in Zape on Monday.
