Man Sets Self on Fire in Moscow ‘Over Wage Arrears’ – Witness

MOSCOW, March 15 (RIA Novosti) - A man who attempted to commit suicide by setting himself on fire at a Moscow supermarket said he was a migrant worker from Tajikistan, working at a construction site without being paid, a witness said on Friday.

The supermarket employee, who witnessed the incident, said the man drew the attention of other customers by pouring gasoline over his body and holding a lighter.

“Together with the police, we tried to talk him out of committing suicide, and even attempted to lead him out of the supermarket. But he did not listen and finally did what he intended to do at the exit,” she said.

Before setting himself on fire, she added, the man said he was not getting paid at a construction site he worked at in Moscow, and therefore had nothing to feed his family with back in Tajikistan, where he came from.

A source in the medical community told RIA Novosti that the man sustained moderate burns and was taken to the Sklifosovsky hospital.