A desperate asylum seeker who set himself on fire at the Manus Island detention facility is set to be charged by PNG Police with, among other things, attempted suicide, according to reports.
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Last Friday, the unnamed 30-year-old man, who has been denied asylum in Australia, set himself on fire in his room at the Hillside Haus accommodation facility at the Manus Island centre, after being repeatedly denied medical treatment for a variety of reportedly serious ailments. The man had been held at Manus Island for the past six years.
After being treated for burns to his hands and his face, the man was reportedly evacuated from the detention centre to a police station in Port Moresby where he was held overnight. Only after that point was he taken to a medical facility for further treatment.
Manus police personnel have confirmed that once the man is returned to the detention centre he will be charged with both arson and attempted suicide, which is a crime in Papua New Guinea.
Under PNG law, attempting suicide is a misdemeanour charge that commands a potential one-year jail sentence. Arson, however, is viewed much more seriously, and has a maximum sentence of life in prison under the local criminal code.
The fire is the fourth deliberately-lit blaze at the Hillside Haus facility – which houses men whose asylum claims have been rejected – since it was opened in 2017. In recent months, well over 100 men residing at the greater Manus Island detention facilities have either attempted suicide or have self-harmed.
Manus police Inspector David Yapu confirmed the man was to be charged overnight, but his condition was so severe that it necessitated transportation to hospital first.
He admitted setting fire in his own room to burn himself. He spent a night in police custody and was to be charged for arson and attempted suicide but on the next day he was ‘medevacced’ to Port Moresby for further medical treatment.
The man is reportedly being treated at an Intensive Care Unit in Port Moresby.
