A man died after turning into a fireball after police supplied him with cigarettes and a lighter and his kerosene-soaked clothes exploded into flames while in a police interrogation room in Nagoya.

The man already had suicidal tendencies when the officers brought him in for questioning. He has a spat with his lover and was walking along, pouring kerosene over his head as he and threatening to light himself up.

Investigators said they are unsure whether the man set himself alight or he burst into flames by accident.

Atsuta Police Station Deputy Chief Michiharu Kondo slammed his officers for giving the man cigarettes and a lighter despite the station’s no smoking policy.

“It was wrong not to get him to change his clothes and to have given him permission to have a cigarette in the smoke-free police station,” Kondo said.

During interrogation, the officers asked the man to take a breathalyzer test, but he refused and began demanding he be given a cigarette. He was then given a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Police said the three officers who were questioning the man at the time he burst into flames said they had no idea how he caught fire. There were cigarette butts on the floor, suggesting that a spark may have set him afire, but he may also have set himself ablaze when he tried to light a smoke.

Source: Mainichi Japan

Its amazing how you can actually get a pack of cigarettes and lighter during interrogation.

In fact, this burning man reminds me of an episode of CSI that I just saw recently, where the man burst into flames after being tazered.