BALING: "My son is a slow learner. He's not a violent person. He's been a victim since school, and this bullying continued at his workplace."
This is the plea of a mother whose 23-year-old son was arrested after confessing to setting fire to eight homes in Baling.
The mother of five initially refused to speak when approached by the New Straits Times at her home in the Kupang subdistrict.
However, she later agreed to share her story on the condition of anonymity.
"Please, I don't want to be named. I still need to work to support my husband, who suffers from a stroke, and three children who are still in school," she said through the window of her kitchen.
The woman said that her son, the eldest of five children, had been bullied since his school days.
"He has always been a slow learner, and the bullying continued when he worked at a rubber processing factory after finishing Form Five," she said, tearing up.
She described an incident where her son returned home with his mouth bleeding after colleagues forced scrap rubber into his mouth.
He eventually left the job two years ago, but the bullying from his former coworkers persisted.
She added that her son had been depressed for some time and was already under extreme pressure.
"I was worried when the police questioned him four times before his arrest on Sunday. When I asked him if he was involved in the arson, he denied it. After his arrest, I was shocked to learn that he had confessed to the first incident and that he was linked to nine cases," she said, breaking into tears.
The woman expressed her distress, unable to afford a lawyer to defend her son.
Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh confirmed that the suspect had confessed to setting fire to nine homes due to resentment from workplace bullying and being ostracised by the community.
The fires, which occurred between Dec 24 and Jan 12, destroyed 10 properties and 11 motorcycles in several villages.
The suspect, arrested on Jan 12 at 12.30am in Kupang, is currently remanded until Jan 25.
Police have classified the case under Section 435 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years if convicted.