JOHOR BARU: A man was burnt to death when fire gutted a shophouse in Jalan Yahya Awal here early this morning.
The victim was identified as Tan Chee Kin, 49, one of the shophouse owners. Another owner is a Sri Lankan man who is currently on holiday in his home country and will only return to Johor after the Aidiladha celebration.
Johor Baru South district police chief ACP Shahurinain Jais said the shophouse has four bedrooms, an office, a storage room and a car wash shop located next door.
“Investigations revealed that the incident happened at around 5.20am when four workers who were cleaning the car outside heard an explosion inside the house, followed by fire.
“During the incident, four people were in the house. The victim who was sleeping in his room was unable to escape and burnt to death, while the other three occupants managed to escape using the back door,” he said in a statement here.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a man was in panic when his BMW vehicle caught fire, when he was at the petrol station to top up the fuel at Jalan Pasir Pelangi, here, this morning.
The 11.30am fire destroyed 90% of the car and also caused about 20% damage to the station’s pump.
Johor Bahru Fire and Rescue Department station senior officer Kilok Lampas in a statement said the 69-year-old man was not injured in the incident. — Bernama
