KEPALA BATAS, Aug 3 — The man who allegedly set fire to his wife at their home in an oil palm estate in Tasek Gelugor last Monday has been arrested today.

Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police chief ACP Mohd Asri Shafie said the 36-year-old suspect was arrested at about 1pm in a house in Nibong Tebal.

"The man will be taken to court tomorrow for remand,” he said.

When asked about the condition of the victim, Mohd Asri said, the 35-year-old woman was still in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Penang Hospital with an 80/20 chance of survival.

It was reported that a 36-year-old man allegedly set his 35-year-old wife on fire using petrol in the 9.30pm incident, believed to be over a misunderstanding.

The victim’s neighbour alerted the police about the incident at 10.45pm and a team was sent to the location but the 35-year-old victim had already been sent to the Kepala Batas Hospital.

Preliminary investigations found that the couple works at the oil palm plantation. They have four children aged 10 to 13 and the children were in the quarters provided by their employer at the time of the incident. — Bernama