Manjung police chief Hasbullah Abd Rahman said they were informed of the fire at about 2.30am.

He said a check of the house after the fire and rescue department brought the fire under control uncovered the charred remains of a man lying face down in the living room.

Hasbullah said a witness had seen a male suspect enter the house and heard a disturbance in the living room.

“The suspect was later seen leaving the house and returning with two containers of liquid suspected to be petrol. He fled the scene just before the witness noticed the fire,” he said in a statement.

Hasbullah said a post-mortem on the victim would be conducted at Permaisuri Raja Bainun Hospital’s forensic department here.

He said police arrested the suspect the same day following a tip-off.

The man has been remanded for a week to assist in the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

“Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact investigating officer Azalan Ab Karim at 019-392-7837 or the Manjung police operations room at 05-688-6222,” said Hasbullah.

Earlier, Perak fire and rescue department assistant director of operations Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad confirmed that a man was found dead at a house in Taman Muhibbah 2 near Sitiawan, Manjung, this morning.