Pupil injured in school fire suspected as arson

KUANTAN: A fire suspected to be arson at a pondok school in Nenasi town near here yesterday resulted in a 10-year-old pupil suffering burns on the face and hands.
Nenasi Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Fadzirllah Zainal Abidin said the pupil, Mohd Aiman Syafiq Abdullah, said he saw someone splash fuel and torch the Pondok Nurul Iman Tahfiz Centre in Kampung Tanjung Batu at about 8pm.
"The injured boy sought the help of friends. He was given first aid at the Nenasi health clinic and then sent to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan," he said when contacted today.
Mohd Fadzirllah said Mohd Aiman Shafiq had returned to the hostel of the school to change his wet clothes before joining the other pupils and teachers at a mosque about 200m away.
He said the fire and rescue station sent six fire-fighters in a truck to the school and they put out the fire in 30 minutes.
Pekan Police chief Supt Amran Sidek said the warden of the school, Mohd Faiz Zakariah, 32, lodged a police report at 9.46pm at the Nenasi police station.
"He claimed in the report that Mohd Aiman Syafiq saw someone who had come in a Proton Saga car set fire to the hostel," he said, adding that the school had 12 pupils.
Amran said the damage was estimated at RM20,000, and that the fire had destroyed cupboards, beds, mattresses and ceiling fans. — Bernama