File photo for illustration purposes
KUCHING: A 24-year-old male suspect who was undergoing quarantine at a hotel here was arrested by the police when he started a fire at the hotel’s lobby at around 9.15am yesterday (May 7).
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail who confirmed the arrest today said the suspect started the fire by setting a bottle of hand sanitiser on fire.
“Fortunately the fire was put out quickly by the hotel staff,” said Aidi, adding that the suspect was supposed to undergo quarantine at the hotel from May 2 to 15 after arriving from Kuala Lumpur.
The case has since been handed over to the Ministry of Health for further action as the complainant (hotel security guard) personally knows the suspect and believes that he suffers from depression and other mental health problems.
The suspect is currently undergoing quarantine at the Sarawak General Hospital.
Kuching district police chief ACP Awang Din Awang Gani said the suspect was acting strangely while undergoing quarantine by wandering around the hotel and destroying the room where he was staying in.
It was also reported on various social media posts that the suspect was the same person who went missing for six days while hiking on Mount Singai in Bau in 2018.