A tax-related dispute might have provoked the arson attack at Revenue Tower in Wan Chai that led to the evacuation of about 600 office workers, a police source said yesterday.
The 51-year-old man arrested in connection with the case owns a laundry, according to the source.
'We are looking into his background and business as part of the investigation,' the source said. 'We're also checking with the Inland Revenue Department to find out whether the suspect had a tax-related dispute with its staff.'
Security was stepped up at Revenue Tower yesterday, with security guards checking visitors' identity and examining their bags at the ground-floor lift lobby. There are 12 government departments with about 8,000 employees in the building.
The attack happened on Thursday when a man approached payment counter No5 at the Inland Revenue Department's business office on the fourth floor of Revenue Tower in Gloucester Road.
He poured a flammable liquid onto the counter, wiped it with a towel and then used a lighter to ignite it before fleeing. There were about 10 customers in the tax office.