A man burnt himself to death at an amusement arcade in Heilongjiang province on Friday, local police said.

Hua Guoyou, 29, a local kebab vendor, went into the arcade in the Xiangfang district of Harbin at about 2:30 pm, where he claimed he had lost money. He then poured gasoline on himself and threatened to commit suicide.

A member of staff called the boss to talk with Hua, but he ignited the fuel.

Five other people were in the arcade at the time of the incident, all of whom escaped without harm, Li Yuefang, an officer with Xiangfang police, said.

It took firefighters about 40 minutes to put out the fire.

In July, police closed the arcade for allowing gambling and operating without a license, but it recently reopened, Li said.

Hua's body has been sent for an autopsy, and the boss of the arcade is in police custody.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2008)