The Judiciary Police (PJ) nabbed a Filipino for arson on Friday, PJ spokesman Chao Teng Hin said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Chao identified the suspect as a 23-year-old non-resident worker (NRW) surnamed Gacita who told police that he works in a restaurant.
According to Chao, on the evening of January 7, the Judiciary Police received a report from the Fire Services Bureau (CB) regarding a fire on an open patch of land near Rua do Guimarães (海邊新街), where a pile of rubbish and discarded items had been set alight.
Chao said that based on the surrounding environment and objective evidence, it is believed that the fire was caused by a resident from a nearby building who discarded an improperly extinguished cigarette.
Chao said that PJ officers identified Gacita as the person probably connected to the case and summoned him for questioning on Friday. The suspect admitted to having a habit of smoking in the stairwell and flicking cigarette ends into the open area below, Chao said, adding that Gacita had usually failed to properly dispose of the cigarette ends, causing a fire this time.
Chao noted that although cigarette ends are small, they pose a significant fire hazard. Chao urged residents not to discard cigarette ends carelessly after smoking, in order to prevent accidents that could endanger their own and others’ lives and property, and to avoid potential criminal liability.
Gacita was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing an arson charge.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chao Teng Hin looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference at the PJ headquarters in Zape. – Photo: Armindo Neves
