Suspect arrested 6 months after allegedly setting girlfriend on fire

Police on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man, who went into hiding for about six months, after allegedly trying to murder his girlfriend by dousing her in paraffin and then setting her alight.

According to police, the suspect allegedly had a heated argument with his 19-year-old girlfriend on 21 December 2019 in Witbank, Mpumalanga.

“He then poured paraffin on her whilst she was asleep. When she woke up on the smell of paraffin, the suspect set her alight and locked her in their rented room,” police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said.

“The victim screamed out of anguish begging for the suspect to open the door, of which he did but ran away immediately after”.

Hlathi added that when other tenants heard the victim screaming and saw that she was badly burned, they immediately contacted police and medical personnel for assistance.

“When these formations arrived, the medical personnel took the victim to hospital whilst police opened a case of attempted murder”.

Its alleged that the suspect fled Witbank after the incident.

Over six months later, police tracked down the suspect to Shatale near Bushbuckridge where he had been in hiding.

The suspect is expected to appear in the Emalahlani Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

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