KOTA KINABALU: A woman died after her husband allegedly set her on fire during an argument while they were drinking local wine at their house in Sabah’s interior Sook, about 150km from the state capital.
The 41-year-old woman succumbed at the Keningau district hospital on Sunday to the burns she sustained, 16 hours after the incident at their house in Kampung Tinagalan on Saturday night.
The couple’s 16-year-old daughter who was in the house managed to save her younger siblings from the fire that razed their wooden home.
Police have arrested the 50-year-old man and are investigating the case for murder.
Keningau district police chief Supt Yampil Anak Garai said the incident apparently occurred during an argument between the couple while drinking “tapai”.
Initial police investigations found that the couple were in an intoxicated state when the verbal argument took place before it got out of hand when the wife challenged the husband to set her on fire, he said.
Yampil said that the husband had earlier threatened to set her on fire.
“The suspect reportedly doused his wife with petrol before lighting a match.
“The couple’s 16-year-old daughter immediately took her two younger siblings out of the house,” he said yesterday.
Yampil said the teenager tried to put out the fire on her mother’s body before getting help from her uncle.
He said the suspect then took the victim to a clinic for initial treatment before being referred to the Keningau Hospital for further treatment.
“However, the victim was confirmed dead by the Keningau Hospital at 1.41pm on Sunday,” he added.
Yampil said the suspect has been remanded until Feb 9 for further investigation.
He said the suspect did not have any previous criminal record and the urine screening test was also found to be negative for drugs.
