A 19-year-old Rohingya youth who tried to set himself on fire at a rally in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia recently wept in the dock when he was charged with attempted suicide on Wednesday, reports The Star Online.
Restaurant helper Ali Johar Jamal Hussin was sentenced to three months prison after he pled guilty to attempted suicide by pouring petrol on himself during the gathering at the Ampang Park LRT station here at 11.30am on August 30.
Magistrate Ahmad Solihin Abd Wahid also sentenced him to another three months of prison to run concurrently for a second offence of entering the country without legal travel documents.
The accused said he was depressed and wanted to set himself on fire to protest the situation in Myanmar.
"I want to burn myself, there's no point living anymore. My family in Myanmar has been shot, been bombed," he said, openly crying in the dock.
Ali Johar said he had fled to Malaysia while his brother escaped to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Deputy public prosecutor Noorelynna Hanim Abd Halim said there were non-government organisations (NGOs) that could help him, adding that they would be a better alternative than resorting to suicide.
According to the facts of the case, police officers from Dang Wangi IPD were on duty along Jalan Ampang to monitor about 2000 protestors gathered there.
The accused was seen with several others gathered near the LRT with a banner that read "Stop Killing Rohingya from Arakan".
When he poured petrol on himself, the police approached him and asked the man to calm down.
The man began screaming that he would light himself on fire, as "life was pointless after Myanmar soldiers burned down his village".
The police managed to restrain the man and arrested him later.
It was reported that protesters gathered on Jalan Ampang on August 30 to demonstrate against the treatment of the Rohingya people by the Myanmar government.
Several members of the protest were arrested after becoming unruly.