Combusted

In a stressful situation, most smokers reach for their pack of cigarettes. And few situations are as stressful as a police interrogation. It’s possible the interrogating officer knew that when he decided to overlook the station’s no-smoking policy and give the detained Hifumi Kibota a pack of smokes and lighter. It was an act of kindness that might have resulted in a lifelong friendship had Kibota not soaked himself in kerosene just prior to being taken into custody. Instead, Kibota just set himself ablaze.

The Nagoya, Japan, man’s troubles began when his girlfriend called police to report he’d been behaving violently. Rather than go quietly when police arrived, the 45-year-old Kibota poured kerosene over himself. Though police managed to calm him enough to take him into custody, Kibota was less than helpful at the station, refusing to change his clothes and insisting on smoking during questioning.

An officer finally obliged him, but the lit cigarette wasn’t content to be the only thing burning. A fire started on Kibota’s pant-leg and he was soon enveloped. By the time he was extinguished, burns covered most of his body. He died in hospital the next morning.

by Scott Saxon