Sarawakian Man Arrested For Attacking Fireman Putting Out Fire At His Ancestral Home
The incident is said to be the first of its kind in the state.
By Daranee Balachandar — 21 Jun 2021, 01:09 PM
A 30-year-old man was arrested yesterday, 20 June, following an incident where he attacked a fireman for putting out a fire at his home in Lawas, Sarawak
Lawas district police chief DSP Roslan Leman said the incident happened in Kampung Belipat on Saturday, 19 June, reported The Star.
The suspect will be remanded for four days to assist investigations under Section 186 and Section 332 of the Penal Code for obstructing and voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant on duty.
The fireman was attacked at around 3.18pm when the suspect arrived at the location and became emotional after seeing his ancestral home ablaze
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department director Khirudin Drahman said that the fireman who had been attacked lodged a police report after putting out the fire, reported New Straits Times.
"He (the fireman) lodged a police report on the same day at 9.14pm," Khirudin said in a statement yesterday.
"However, at about 12.45am that same night, he retracted his report after the attacker apologised to him and expressed regret over the incident."
Meanwhile, it is reported that a 56-second long video of the incident was posted on social media over the weekend
A news report with the footage of the incident has garnered 173,789 views on YouTube at the time of writing.
The video shows a man getting angry and throwing an object on the ground. He is stopped by another person as he approaches one of the firemen.
Following that, another man — who is believed to be the suspect — charges into the frame of the video and punches a fireman, causing the latter to fall to the ground.
Khirudin expressed regret and disappointment that a fireman had been attacked while carrying out his duty
"The state Bomba expresses its hope that the public will always respect and understand the tasks and responsibilities of firemen in overcoming any incident, especially those involving fire and rescue," he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
"In this issue, the state Bomba has shown its professional attitude when carrying out its tasks and has always displayed tolerance and consideration in the face of any issue or problem."
Khirudin noted that it is an offence under Section 51 of the Fire Services Act 1988 whenever someone wilfully assaults, obstructs, or interferes with firemen from carrying out their duties.
Upon conviction, the suspect can be faced up to a RM50,000 fine, five years' jail, or both.
Khirudin hopes that such an incident will not occur again.
