JEDDAH, 6 February — A 13-year-old boy in Jeddah's Al-Rawabi District started a fire in his house which burned his parents to death early Saturday.
The boy had failed in his school examinations and wanted to conceal the fact. He had told his father that he had passed the exams and had produced a fraudulent report. The boy's father was suspicious and decided to visit the school on Saturday and talk to his son's teachers.
On Friday the boy bought a gallon of gasoline and, late at night when his parents were asleep, he started a fire which soon blazed out of control. The boy admitted that his intention was to keep his father from going to school on Saturday by presenting him with a more pressing problem.
The boy's younger brothers and sisters were rescued by Civil Defense personnel; his mother died a few hours later and his father forty-eight hours later.
The boy who is experiencing feelings of guilt is in police custody and has been visited by family members who are totally shocked by his behavior.
