A mother of three was burnt on her head and hands after she was set alight with gasoline by a man at a camp on Thursday at Mahdia backdam.
Injured is, Ina Iona Roberts, 25, and of 58 Miles, Mabura, who sustained third degree burns as a result of the attack which took place around 4 am. She is currently a patient at the Burn Care Unit of the Georgetown Hospital after she was transferred from the Mahdia Hospital on Monday. A cloth that was soaked with gasoline was lit and thrown into the hammock the woman was sleeping in by an unknown man who apparently took her for someone else.
A suspect is currently in police custody.
The woman’s reputed husband, Lionel Fowler, told this newspaper that he is still trying to figure out why the man did it since he does not know him. He said that he and his wife along with their children were sleeping in one of the hammocks in the camp when his wife decided that she was going to sleep in another hammock that had a mosquito net.
He said he was left in the hammock putting their youngest child to sleep and ended up dozing off. The man said that shortly after, he was awakened by screams coming from his wife and when he looked he saw the hammock in flames. He said “I hear she scream my name and when I look de hammock on fire… so I tell she come out but she kicking she foot up inside…I had the baby in this hand so I just snatch she with this hand and pull she out but after I snatch she de baby slip down and she throw de sheet she de covering with pun de baby so I had to out it before it bun de child.”
The man said his wife then ran and when he looked at her he saw her entire head in flames. Her husband said when he saw his wife running he decided to trip her down so that he could put out the flames.
Fowler added “when I trip she down then I out the flames and then is when she catch she self.”
After this, her husband made a couple of phone calls and a vehicle came and took his wife to the hospital.
