Myanmar diplomat sets himself on fire in Malaysia-agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Apr 21 (Reuters) A Myanmar diplomat set himself on fire in his country's mission in the Malaysian capital today, triggering a blaze that destroyed much of the building's interior, the official Bernama news agency reported.

Police said the 40-year-old man died of serious burns, and they were still investigating the motive. All the other staff evacuated the building safely, fire officials said.

''The fire was not caused by outsiders,'' city police official Hasnan Hassan told Reuters.

No sign of damage from the hour-long blaze was visible on the exterior of the two-storey building in Kuala Lumpur's leafy diplomatic enclave.

The man set himself alight on the ground floor and then ran upstairs to the rooms where most of the embassy's documents were stored, Bernama quoted an unidentified police source as saying.

Myanmar embassy officials could not be reached for comment, but police will interview embassy staff tomorrow, Hasnan said.

A 2004 firebomb attack on the Myanmar embassy -- then located at a different site -- was blamed by police on Muslim Rohingya refugees from the country.

REUTERS OM RAI2159