A security guard was arrested on Monday for burning newspapers and smearing ash on the walls in the corridor outside his neighbour’s flat, Judiciary Police (PJ) Ho Chan Nam said at the press conference on Wednesday.
The 61-year-old is a local man surnamed Leong.
According to Ho, the Public Security Police (PSP) notified the Judiciary Police on Monday morning about suspected arson on the second floor of a residential building in Rua da Praia do Manduco.
Ho said that PJ officers went to the scene and discovered burnt newspapers on the floor of the corridor while the external walls of a flat showed signs of blackening.
PJ officers later that day arrested Leong as the suspected arsonist. Under questioning, Leong admitted to committing the crime. He told the police when he returned home from his night shift he could not sleep because of the noise in his neighbour’s flat, which upset him. Ho said that Leong had been at odds with his neighbour for a while so he set some newspapers alight in the corridor and smeared the ash onto the neighbour’s flat’s outer wall to take revenge.
Leong was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Tuesday, facing an arson charge, according to Ho.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam poses during Wednesday’s briefing at the Public Security Police (PSP) conference room. Photo: Camy Tam
