An employee in Indonesia allegedly brought 40 litres of petrol to his workplace and attempted to start a major fire after claiming he could no longer tolerate being bullied by colleagues.
The incident occurred at the Dinas Komunikasi dan Informatika (Diskominfo) office in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, where the man allegedly set fire to a meeting room on Tuesday morning.
Kutai Kartanegara Police Criminal Investigation Unit chief AKP Elnath Splendidta Wafiq Gemilang confirmed the incident, saying investigators were still examining the motive and sequence of events.
The suspect, identified as MA, works as a call centre operator at Diskominfo Kukar. Preliminary investigations indicate that workplace conflict may have contributed to his actions.
Elnath said MA was reportedly angered by repeated teasing and bullying from colleagues. He alleged that co-workers had taken photographs of MA, turned them into stickers and shared them in group chats as jokes, which the suspect considered excessive.
The fire damaged part of the office meeting room but was brought under control before it could spread further. Diskominfo staff worked alongside personnel from the Kukar Fire and Rescue Department to contain the blaze.
MA has since been arrested, with police continuing their investigation based on evidence recovered from the scene and statements obtained from several witnesses.
Authorities are now working to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident, including the events that allegedly led to MA bringing the petrol to the office and setting the fire.
