By Hou Akot Hou
A 20-year-old woman has been arrested in Aweil South County, Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, for setting a barn on fire. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Riang-Aker Boma of Panthou payam.
According to Thou Kuac, the police inspector in Panthou payam, the suspect, identified as Awein Kuac Marol, is believed to have set the barn on fire due to a dispute with a young man who had previously been her suitor but had refused to marry her.
“The incident occurred as the case is between Awein and the young suitor whose house she set on fire. The father of the young man rejected to marry the young man and that infuriated the suspect and put fire on the barn,” Kuac stated.
The fire burned 7 cows, 12 goats, and 7 chickens, all of which were burned beyond recognition. After committing the act, the suspect fled the scene but was later apprehended by neighbors and family members.
During the investigation, Awein admitted to the crime, citing desperation and feeling like a laughingstock among her peers as the driving factors behind her actions.
Kuac emphasized that this incident is not an isolated case, as it follows a similar incident last year in Malek-alel, where a young girl committed suicide after her marriage proposal was rejected by her suitor.
The police officer cautioned young men and women to exercise restraint in complicated love affairs and to seek legal remedies through the court system when their partners refuse to reciprocate their marriage proposals.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the suspect will be taken to court to face the charges.