A local man has confessed that due to relationship and financial problems he attempted suicide by setting his rented flat on fire, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam told reporters yesterday during a regular press conference.
According to Ho, the 34-year-old unemployed male, surnamed Chio, was drinking alone on the balcony of his flat in Kam Cheung Building last Thursday at around 9:20 p.m., suffering from stress over relationship and financial problems. He then attempted suicide by setting his bed sheets alight with his cigarette lighter.
Ho said that when the fire started spreading Chio got scared and ran out of his bedroom. Ho said that Chio feared that the blaze might affect his neighbours so he tried to put it out with water but failed. Ho said that Chio was frightened by the scene and fled to his girlfriend’s place. According to Ho, the fire was put out by Chio’s neighbours. Ho did not say how the neighbours were able to enter Chio’s flat, and neither did he mention where Chio’s girlfriend lives.
Ho said that when the firefighters arrived, they noted that the blaze had damaged the air conditioner, blackened the walls and severely damaged the two beds and bed linens. According to Ho, the firefighters found the cause of the fire to be suspicious, so they reported the case to the police at 11 p.m. for further investigation.
Ho said according to the flat’s owner, the fire cost him 150,000 patacas, adding that Chio has been renting the flat since October for 3,500 patacas a month.
Ho pointed out that on the next day Chio decided to confess his crime after talking to his girlfriend and family. Ho said that the case was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Saturday, adding that Chio might face charges according to Article 264 of the Macau Penal Code concerning crimes involving fire, explosions and other particularly dangerous kinds of behaviour. Chio faces a prison term of between three and 10 years.
People at risk of suicide, or those suspecting that a person is at risk of suicide, may phone Caritas Macau’s Life Hope Hotline (28525222) or the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) 24-hour Counselling Hotline (28261126).
