A local man was arrested on Monday for alleged arson at a residential building in Rua do General Galhardo, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a regular press conference yesterday.
The suspect is a 25-year-old Macanese logistics worker surnamed Silva who lives on the fifth floor of the building.
Macanese generally consist of people of predominantly mixed Chinese and Portuguese as well as Malay, Sinhalese and Indian ancestry.
According to Chan, the Judiciary Police (PJ) received a report early on Sunday from the Fire Services Bureau (CB) that the mezzanine floor staircase of a residential building in Rua do General Galhardo was on fire. A suitcase, shoes and a burnt cardboard box which contained toys, a curtain, a blanket and kitchen utensils worth about 3,000 patacas were found gutted by the fire in the stairwell. After checking CCTV footage, the police soon confirmed that the suspect lives on the fifth floor.
Chan said Silva drank with friends and was drunk before he went home. The police scrutinised CCTV footage showing the suspect stayed on the staircase for about three minutes and slowly walked upstairs to his flat. Soon afterwards, smoke erupted in the stairwell. The suspect poured water from the fifth floor to the mezzanine floor and later walked down to extinguish the smokey blaze.
According to Chan, the CCTV footage provided by shops near the building showed that Silva was the only person who entered the scene before the fire. However, Silva denied that he set the fire when questioned by PJ officers on Monday morning. Silva was transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further investigation yesterday, facing an arson charge, Chan said.
According to Article 264 of the Macau Penal Code, the suspect faces up to 10 years behind bars.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man (left) and Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon pose during yesterday’s regular press conference. Photo: Mark Yeung
Fire erupts in Iao Hon
Meanwhile, Fire Services Bureau (CB) received a report yesterday about a fire at around 11:30 a.m. in a flat on the third floor of Hing Lung Building in Rua Seis do Bairro Iao Hon. About a dozen of the building’s residents self-evacuated during the fire. The bureau has launched an investigation into the exact cause of the fire, a Fire Services Bureau (CB) spokesman told reporters at the scene.
According to local Chinese-language media reports, the building houses a workers’ dormitory.
