Society

Man sets himself ablaze in E China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-18 15:57

XIAMEN: A man set himself on fire Monday outside a local conference hall in Xiamen of east China's Fujian Province, said local authorities.

A witness said he saw the man catching fire at around 9 am outside the Xiamen municipal people's conference hall, where a meeting of the municipal people's congress, or local legislature of Xiamen City, was being convened at that time.

Security guards promptly took off his burning coat and took him away, the witness said.

An initial investigation showed the man, surnamed Kang from the city's Huli District, was upset at a family dispute over the renovation of their house, said a spokesman with the Publicity Department of Xiamen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"Kang has made appeals to local authorities, who subsequently gave clear replies. But the dispute has not been solved as he and his three brothers couldn't reach agreement," he said.

"Kang has been hospitalized with injuries in his upper limbs, but he is in stable condition," he added.