It Wasn’t Violent Taxi Drivers Or A Bomb Attack, But An Angry Husband’s Bitter Revenge
The culprit is currently in remand for four days, pending further investigation.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 22 Dec 2015, 03:53 PM
At about 1pm yesterday, 21 December, 6 vehicles parked at a car park near the Taman Jaya LRT station was destroyed by a sudden burst of fire
In a statement earlier, the Fire and Rescue Department confirmed the blaze destroyed two cars and damaged four others.
"Six personnel were sent to the scene and the fire was put out in approximately 30 minutes at 1.32pm.
"The fire involved six cars parked on site. A Toyota Vios and Proton Wira were completely destroyed; a Suzuki Swift (80% destroyed); Proton BLM (70% destroyed); Proton Gen 2 (20% destroyed) and a Honda (20% destroyed)," said the statement.
malaysiakini.com
Watch the video of the incident, uploaded by Portal Islam dan Melayu Ismaweb.net here:
Photos and videos of the incident started surfacing online, with some netizens even claiming that the explosion was caused by a bomb
Debunking the "bomb" rumour that surfaced after the news of the explosion broke out, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar instead confirmed that car was set ablaze by an unknown perpetrator
Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has clarified a car was set ablaze at the Taman Jaya LRT station parking lot in Petaling Jaya this afternoon.
"Someone set a car ablaze at parking of LRT Taman Jaya, PJ. There was no bomb explosion. @PDRMsia is investigating a case of mischief by fire," he said in a tweet.
malaysiakini.com
Meanwhile, Rapid KL was quick provide more clarity on the situation by ensuring that the Taman Jaya LRT station was not affected by the fire and that there will be no disruptions to the train schedule and operations
The authorities have since arrested the man behind the incident and here's how the fire blast really happened:
Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst. Comm. Mohd Zani Che Din revealed that the incident was sparked by the raging emotions of a young man going through a divorce.
The culprit, a man in his 20s, apparently turned up at the parking lot where his ex-wife's car was parked at and in a fit of rage, threw a petrol bomb at her car, while she was standing right by it.
According to the police, the husband arrived at the scene on a motorbike, where his wife had met her 20-year-old boyfriend. Enraged, the husband threw a petrol bomb at her car, which ignited. He then fled.
“The boyfriend realised that the man was about to throw the bottle at the woman’s car which had the door open, as she was cleaning up the inside,” said Petaling Jaya police chief Mohd Zani Che Din.
“Thankfully, the woman managed to jump out before the flames engulfed the car,” added Zani.
themalaysianinsider.com
As the cars were parked in close proximity, the surrounding vehicles quickly caught on fire and the fireball engulfed five other vehicles parked nearby
“The fire quickly spread to five other nearby cars and grew too big for the few people around there to put out,” Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din said, adding that three loud explosions were also heard.
The ex-husband quickly fled the scene, leaving behind his slippers and helmet.
A spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department said firemen arrived at the scene a few minutes after receiving a distress call from an eyewitness.
“We took about half an hour to extinguish the flames. Four cars were badly damaged while two others were about 20% burnt," he said.
Despite the massive fire that broke out, thankfully, no injuries were reported in this incident.
According to Malaysiakini, the suspect is currently under remand for four days, under Section 435 of the Penal Code which handles all cases related to mischief with fire or explosive substances
It is learned that following further investigations, the police might reclassify the case under a more serious offence.
malaysiakini.com