A man tried to set himself on fire in front of National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi’s office on Tuesday, July 7th.
Reports say that the man, an international student in his 30s, doused himself in petrol and stood in front of the Papatoetoe office of Bakshi, who was not at the office at the time.
The Fire Service said that the student was stopped before any fire was lit. A police spokesperson said that the student also threatened to harm himself in Bakshi’s office.
Bakshi said that he had met the student once or twice before. He thought that he had “culture shock,” and was not dealing with the stress well.
It is believed that the man came to the office because he was having trouble with his teaching in school. Bakshi said that his staff were assisting the student, and suggested that he return to the institution and continue with the studies.
The Fire Service made sure that they changed the student’s clothes and decontaminated him before he was turned over to police. A witness said that the the incident “was all over pretty quickly,” and was handled well by the staff and the police.
“He was making threats to himself. He was in no way threatening anybody else. Police managed to talk him around and it was sorted without incident,” said a police spokesperson.
The student was taken to the mental health unit of Middlemore Hospital for assessment.
