A 31-year-old Filipino man was arrested on Monday for suspected arson after seven motorcycles parked on a street were damaged by fire. At 6pm, Macau police arrested the man, who is a chef, at his apartment in Edificio Hoi Pan Garden on Rua do Canal Novo, Macau Daily News reported.
The suspect told police that he had been drinking at home on Saturday and then went to a friend’s home in Bairron Iao Hon to have another round of drinks.
At 4am on Sunday, the man, by then inebriated, left his friend’s home. He went to the first floor of Edificio Man Sau and set fire to some clothes in the corridor with his cigarette lighter. Residents put out the fire.
The suspect then went to an alley on Rua Dois do Bairron Iao Hon and set fire to seven motorcycles parked there.
The fire spread to a van parked nearby, and a shop was also affected. The shop reported damage worth about 100,000 patacas (US$12,400), Hou Kong Daily reported, adding that 20 people had to evacuate their homes.
Macau police said they investigated surveillance-camera footage and located the suspect, who was turned over to the Public Prosecutions Office to face arson charges.