A lovesick arsonist’s burning desire for a wife led him to set alight his family’s home in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on Sunday.

The man, 27, pawned the family television when his mother refused to pay off his gambling debt.

He then demanded a fiancée, but his mother again refused to help out, presumably out of sympathy for any future spouse.

The furious man decided to add arson to his list of sins, setting his own house on fire while still inside. Neighbours helped put out the blaze while police arrested the culprit.

Nokorwat