Man burns in shackles

GORONTALO, North Sulawesi: Twenty-six-year-old Ahmad Yahya died on Tuesday night after his hut, in which he had been kept in shackles, caught fire.

The farmer of Talulobuto village, Tapa district, was burned to death not far from the house of his parents who put him in shackles after he became mentally ill and violent since April.

His wife and three children were not home during the fire, which was thought to have been caused by a kerosene lamp.

Yahya's mother, Maria Zein, heard the victim's screams and woke her husband, Idris, who tried to put the fire out but failed. Idris then had a fatal heart attack.

Yahya's wife, Hapsa Akase, said she had gone to her parents' home because she could no longer tolerate Yahya's abusive behavior toward herself and her children.

Police are still investigating the case. (swe)