POLICE have detained a local man believed to be responsible for deliberately setting fire to six houses at the Kampung Johan Setia housing area in Klang, south of here, on Tuesday.
The arrest followed information and reports received from members of the public at about 2pm regarding multiple house fires in the neighbourhood.
Klang Selatan deputy district police chief Superintendent Kamalariffin Aman Shah said officers immediately rushed to the scene and confirmed that fires had broken out at two separate locations.
“Upon receiving the information, police rushed to the scene and confirmed that house fires had occurred at two different locations.
“Investigations found that the distance between the two locations was about 500 metres, involving one house at the first location and five houses at the second,” he said in a statement today.
Further investigations revealed that the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department successfully brought the fires under control within two hours. Kamalariffin said there were no fatalities reported in the incident, while the total losses and the exact cause of the fires are still under investigation.
“The Criminal Investigation Department of the Klang Selatan district police headquarters has opened an investigation under Section 436 of the Penal Code for mischief by fire with intent to destroy a house,” he said.
He added that police managed to arrest a 43-year-old local man at the scene to assist with investigations. Background checks showed that the suspect has 26 previous criminal records, including drug-related offences.
“An application for the suspect’s remand will be made at the Klang Court today,” Kamalariffin said.
Police have also called on members of the public with information related to the incident to come forward by visiting the nearest police station or contacting the Klang Selatan district police headquarters at 03-3376 2222.
Earlier, the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Division assistant director Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar was reported as saying that all six houses involved were about 95 per cent destroyed in the fires. - January 14, 2026
