Stinginess led to the man's downfall
The jinn did it, says 11-time Saudi fire victim
DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
A Saudi man whose home caught fire 11 times was convinced the jinn – or spirits – did it, until a police investigation got to the bottom of the fiery mystery.
The man, who comes from Mecca, turned to local religious leaders – sheiks – after his old apartment caught fire eight times in a row.
After hearing his tale, the sheikhs confirmed that the jinn were indeed behind the incendiary crimes, and advised him to read verses from the Quran in every corner of his new apartment in order to ward off evil spirits.
But the new home also went up in flames three times, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported on Saturday.
After civil defense staff could not find the reason behind the blazes, they referred the case to police.
After a thorough investigation, in which they located a match box in the rubble of the most recent fire, police managed to crack the case.
The culprit was one of the man's sons.
Police saw the 12-year-old boy buying a match box from a local grocery store. He later confessed to burning down the old and new apartments to protest his father's miserly ways.
Investigators said the children went to school dressed in rags, the family lived in deplorable conditions, and the apartment was in shambles -- although the father was very well off.
After confessing to police, the boy was referred to a social care institution.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/01/14/44201.html