A man who allegedly doused a villager’s house with petrol and set it alight in Kampong Chhnang province early yesterday morning was arrested and sent to court.

The suspect, Mut Maravy, 28, from Phsar Leu village in Kampong Chhnang town’s Phsar Chhnang commune, was accused of intentionally attempting to burn down the victim’s property.

According to the complaint, victim Siv Sarin, 32, was sitting with his family, eating, chatting and getting ready for bed when they heard a motorbike approach and stop in front of the house followed by the noise of splashing liquid.

Suddenly, their door and wall were engulfed in flames.

“I was trying to open the door and managed to get out; from there, I could see the suspect sitting on the motorbike outside the fence,” Sarin said.

It took him and his neighbours 15 minutes to put out the fire.

According to Sarin, the suspect drove off as the fire went out. Sarin hopped on his motorbike and followed him, cornering the suspect at Phsar Chhnang market.

He asked the commune police to arrest the suspect, whose sleeves were allegedly soaked in petrol, but police initially refused.

Rin Rotha, the Phsar Chhnang commune police chief said that his men did not have enough evidence to arrest the suspect immediately.

Later that morning, however, Sarin filed a complaint to Kampong Chhnang police, who apprehended the suspect on the same day.

The suspect denied the allegations against him, according to Pech Ry, the Kampong Chhnang provincial justice office director.