The public prosecutor, Yves Dupas, announces that an investigation was opened this Tuesday, December 3, into the intentional destruction by fire of the premises of the Poindimié town hall. It will be carried out by the Koné gendarmerie research brigade. The events took place during the night from Monday to Tuesday.
The fire spread to several rooms before firefighters managed to bring it under control. Photo DR
The Poindimié firefighters were alerted at 3:10 a.m. of the fire in progress. Police and firefighters arrived on site at 3:30 a.m. to put out the fire.
A completely destroyed room
According to the first elements of the investigation, the fire started from an office in which paper was placed on a table before being ignited. “This part is completely destroyed by the flames, while other parts show less significant damage.“, indicates the prosecution. The municipality warned that the Poindimié town hall would remain closed to the public “until further notice”, in order to relocate administrative services.
The technical and scientific police carried out measurements from the beginning of the morning. “The hypothesis of a fire of criminal origin is clearly favored by the investigators,” underlines Yves Dupas, affirming that “all necessary means to identify the perpetrators of this offense” will be deployed. The latter face a penalty of ten years' imprisonment.
The room from which the fire started was completely destroyed. Poindimié town hall is closed to the public until further notice. Photo DR
In a press release published this Wednesday, the government expressed its deep indignation and strongly condemned the series of fires of criminal origin that have occurred in recent days, notably at the Collège de Normandie, in Nouméa, and at the Container Café, in Koné.
