A debt-ridden Hong Kong man and seven family members escaped unscathed after two petrol bombs exploded outside their flat in a Tuen Mun public housing block on Monday night.
Family members inside the flat at the time of the firebombing included his wife, parents and two children, according to a police source, who said the blaze was extinguished by the family and neighbours before emergency personnel arrived. One of the neighbours, a 62-year-old man who broke the glass of a fire alarm and used a hose to help douse the flames, suffered a minor cut to his hand and was bandaged at the scene.
The wooden doors and security gates of the family’s flat and the adjacent unit were blackened in the fire, according to police.The source said the investigation suggested the jobless man, who went bankrupt last year, was in debt after losing more than HK$300,000 gambling online.