Police in Hong Kong were Thursday hunting an arsonist who set alight the city's tax office and then fled with his trousers on fire, dpa reported.
One hundred customers were evacuated after the middle-aged man walked into the Inland Revenue office in central Hong Kong and poured petrol over the counter before setting it alight Thursday morning.
No one was injured in the blaze but the arsonist fled with his trousers on fire and was chased by passers-by for some distance before jumping into a taxi and escaping, police said.
The arsonist said nothing as he walked into the office carrying a bottle of petrol and had no conversation with staff before starting the blaze, said district police commander Blake Hancock.
"He did not say anything or argue with staff and we do not believe he is known to any members of Inland Revenue staff," Hancock told reporters.
"When he left the scene, it is possible his trousers were on fire and that his legs were injured." The fire in the tax office was quickly extinguished, Hancock added.
Police were Thursday afternoon trying to trace the man and the taxi that took him from the scene. An alert was put out to hospitals and medical clinics to watch out for a man with burn injuries.