Man who set fire to bank because he was 'sick of waiting' jailed
WARNING, DISTRESSING IMAGES: An asylum seeker has been jailed for at least seven years after setting a Melbourne bank alight by turning himself into a human fireball.
Customers were forced to run for their lives, all because the 24-year-old was sick of waiting to be served.
Nur Islam had visited the Springvale branch of the Commonwealth Bank in 2016, but angered by the slow service, he left.
Minutes later, he returned and poured 11 litres of petrol across the floor.
A ball of fire engulfed the bank, sending 39 people running for their lives as flames and black smoke filled the room.
In sentencing on Friday, judge Howard Mason said there was “no rational explanation for your bizarre and callous act … You expressed no reason other than you were angry at having to wait.”
Outside the bank, dozens of customers and staff were treated for burns.
Mr Islam received burns to approximately 60 per cent of his body, his scars a constant reminder of the terror he inflicted on his victims.
The court heard Mr Islam had smoked ice the previous night.
His housemates noticed his behaviour was “erratic and withdrawn” in the months before the attack.
With time served Mr Islam, a refugee from Myanmar, could be out of jail in less than five years.
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