BUTTERWORTH: Police have detained a man who survived a deadly house fire in Taman Rathna, Telok Air Tawar here where a woman and her adopted child died.
Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the man in his 20s, who is also the woman's son, has been remanded for seven days until Dec 25.
"Police investigations found criminal elements in the blaze that killed two people and we have arrested the man who is related to the victims.
"Police have obtained a remand order for the man who is currently receiving treatment at the Seberang Jaya Hospital and further investigation is being conducted under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder," he said when contacted by Bernama on Friday (Dec 19).
He added that the bodies of the woman and her adopted child are still at the Kepala Batas Hospital forensic unit for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing and cannot be claimed by family members yet.
In the blaze, Hayani Yaakob, in her 50s, and her adopted daughter known as Andra, aged five, were trapped in the burning house and died, while her son was injured when the roof collapsed.
It was reported that the fire department received a call at 9.41am on Dec 10 and found the bodies of the two victims in the living room near the main door, while her son was found near the kitchen door. – Bernama
