lames of revenge: Man jailed after torching palm tree in drug-fuelled feud

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

A Bahraini man has been jailed for one year after setting a palm tree on fire and attempting to torch a car during a dispute linked to drug dealing.

The First High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld the sentence and ordered the 33-year-old to pay BD100 in damages for the destruction caused.

Prosecutors said the defendant deliberately set fire to another person's property, putting lives and surrounding property at risk.

Court records show that the man arrived at the victim’s home on a bicycle, carrying a bottle filled with kerosene and a lighter, allegedly intending to set the property alight following ongoing disputes with the victim’s son.

Instead, he poured the fuel onto a palm tree outside the house and ignited it before leaving the scene.

The victim was alerted by his domestic worker, who spotted someone outside, and rushed out to find flames rising from the tree and a strong smell of fuel in the air.

He managed to put out the fire using a water hose and later found a bottle near the tree containing traces of kerosene, prompting him to report the incident.

The court found the defendant guilty of arson and endangering public safety.