District police chief Assistant Commissioner Fadil Marsus said the suspect who tested positive for drugs is being investigated under Section 436 of Penal Code for arson.
He said the suspect who had no previous record was believed to have set fire to his rented house at Block 8 after the owner ordered him to evict the premises for failing to pay the rental.
A senior citizen died in the fire which occurred in the wee hours of today. The victim Sabon Ola, 82, was pronounced dead at hospital.
District Fire and Rescue department received call at 12.55am and dispatched 26 personnel to the scene.
"The incident involved three blocks of squatter houses of 60 houses located within a a half hectare area and saw 300 people escaping the conflagration with only clothes on their back
"The fire was put under control at 2.28am and extinguished at 4.03am," a statement said.
This is the second time homes in the settlement caught fire.
On April, nearly 1,000 people were left homeless when more than 100 squatters were destroyed in a fire.
By Olivia Miwil
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