Rangers patrolling the Kaeng Hat Oi Forest, in Thailand’s Phitsanulok province, last Saturday, apprehended a suspicious young man, following repeated reports of fires in the area. The suspect was carrying a lighter and couldn’t offer a valid reason for his presence there, so he was taken in for questioning.
At the police station, the 22-year-old man, identified only as Matina, eventually admitted to setting fires in Kaeng Hat Oi Forest, but offered a very bizarre reason for it.
“I just wanted to have fun. I had nothing to do, so I started a fire to get forest rangers to put it out. I just acted out of recklessness,” the man casually said.
Rangers transferred the suspect to the Chat Trakan Police Station for legal proceedings, where he was charged with damaging natural resources. The young arsonist remains in custody, but authorities have yet to announce the penalties he faces.
Thailand is already battling numerous forest fires started by natural causes or human recklessness, but this is probably the first case of someone starting a forest fire for fun. House fires are a different matter entirely, though, as we have reported several cases of people setting homes on fire for their own entertainment.
