NIBONG TEBAL: Due to the pressure of suffering a mysterious disease that caused her weight to balloon up to 180kg, a woman often quarrelled with her family members.
But a quarrel the 39-year-old woman had with her younger sister in their Bandar Tasek Mutiara home in Simpang Ampat on Thursday led to her setting herself ablaze.
The incident happened when the sisters had a row about 4pm. Unable to withstand scolding from her younger sister, 33, she took a can of petrol and poured it over herself before igniting a lighter.
The petrol splashed on the younger sister, who tried to put out the fire. The siblings suffered almost 100 burns and were rushed to Seberang Jaya Hospital.
A 50-year-old Myanmar maid and the older sister's children, age 2 and 12, sustained minor burns and were rushed to Sungai Bakap Hospital.
Seberang Prai Selatan district police chief Superintendent Lee Chong Chern said police were informed of the death of the sisters yesterday.
"The younger sister died at 5.34am, while the older sister died at 11.43am."
He said the older sister's husband was at work during the incident, while the younger sister's husband was serving a jail sentence.
"The maid has been discharged and the two children are in stable condition."
Lee said the older sister had elephantiasis and was known to be depressed.
She had sought treatment in Chennai, India, three years ago, but did not follow-up her treatment here. The sisters were pulled out of the house by firefighters when the house caught fire.