A pensioner who was hospitalised since Christmas morning with severe burns about her body after her son allegedly set fire to the mattress on which she was resting, succumbed to her injuries about 6.30 am today at the GPHC.
An investigation, police say, revealed that the victim, Mengree Dahri called ‘Gladys’, 73 years and her 43-year-old-son lived at Lot 143 Gale Street, Annandale, ECD. On 2017-12-25 at about 10 am, a resident observed smoke emanating from the bottom flat of the two-storey house and on checking discovered the victim on a bed which was engulfed in flames. With the assistance of public-spirited persons she was evacuated and the fire extinguished.
The suspect who is in custody and is said to be an alcoholic has admitted to setting the fire. A post-mortem is expected to be done tomorrow.