Beja. PJ arrests suspect of setting fire with lighter

The Judicial Police (PJ) arrested a 39-year-old man suspected of having started a fire using a lighter on a vacant rural plot of land in Beja, on the 18th of this month, it was announced this Thursday.

In a statement, the PJ explained that the alleged perpetrator of this arson crime was detained by the Southern Directorate of that criminal investigation police, “following the obtaining of relevant evidence”.

“The suspect, without plausible justification, started the fire, using a direct flame (lighter), on a vacant rural plot of land, with the ground occupied by low herbaceous vegetation, located in Colina do Carmo”, in one of the city's parishes, said the PJ.

The flames consumed an area of ​​four hectares, but the fire, which was "detected early by a firefighter, only avoided becoming larger due to the prompt intervention of the Beja Fire Department."

According to the Judiciary, firefighters quickly managed to extinguish the fire and put an end to the danger it posed to the scattered homes in the vicinity.

Contacted this Thursday by the Lusa news agency, a police source revealed that the alleged arsonist was arrested on Wednesday in Beja.

The suspect will also have to be brought before the competent judicial authorities at the Beja Court, for the first judicial interrogation and application of coercive measures.

The investigation is headed by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Beja.