A 64-year-old grandmother in Depok, Indonesia, has expressed regret after allegedly setting her 17-year-old granddaughter on fire because the teenager refused to pick her up from a friend’s house.
The victim, identified as LA, suffered burns covering 80 per cent of her body and remains in a coma while receiving treatment at Fatmawati Hospital.
According to detikNews, the incident happened in Bojongsari, Depok, at around 1.40pm local time on Monday.
Depok Metro Police Criminal Investigation Unit chief AKBP Made Gede Oka Utama said the incident began when the suspect, identified only as M, asked her granddaughter to pick her up from a friend’s house.
However, the teenager did not fulfil the request, forcing the elderly woman to walk approximately one kilometre home.
Upon arriving home, the grandmother reportedly found her granddaughter playing on her mobile phone and became angry over her refusal to come and fetch her.
In a fit of anger, the suspect allegedly took kerosene, poured it over the teenager and set her clothes on fire.
The victim screamed for help as she suffered severe burns, prompting the grandmother to pour water over her in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
The teenager was subsequently rushed to Fatmawati Hospital for emergency treatment.
Meanwhile, Depok Metro Police Women and Children Protection Unit chief AKP Tamar Bekti said the suspect had admitted regretting her actions.
However, the grandmother claimed she had not intended to burn her granddaughter and only wanted to teach her a lesson so that she would listen to her.
“I regret it. I did not intend to burn my granddaughter. I only wanted to warn her so that she would listen to her grandmother,” she reportedly told investigators.
Despite the suspect’s statement, police confirmed that the victim remained unconscious and in a coma as of Friday.
The grandmother is facing legal action under provisions relating to domestic violence and child protection, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Police are also arranging a psychiatric examination to determine the suspect’s mental condition at the time of the incident.
