House owner, 41, killed in midnight fire

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KUCHING: A house owner was killed when a fire gutted a store room at his house at Kampung Pangkalan Ampat in Padawan, near here, late Wednesday night.

FATAL FIRE: Bomba personnel going through the scene of the fire for clues.

The deceased, identified as 41-year-old Lai Kui Sen, was believed to have been overcome by thick smoke which prevented him from fleeing.

According to a neighbour, who is also surnamed Lai but is not related to the victim, the incident happened around midnight and rapidly consumed the wooden store room.

He said the deceased had taken to sleeping in the room, which he built several years ago as an extension to his house, as opposed to sleeping in his bedroom.

The victim had been living alone for more than a year after his siblings moved to the Landeh area with their aged mother.

His wife had left him more than 10 years ago, bringing along their only child, and has not returned to the village ever since.

Meanwhile, Siburan fire station chief  Frederick Aok said fellow villagers had worked together to put out the fire but only realised that the victim was trapped inside when they failed to locate him.

“After they had put out the fire and found his remains, the villagers called the police, who then relayed the information to us at 1.06am,” said Frederick when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday.

The cause of the fire, he added, was under investigation.