Breda man tied up before being set on fire

A 49-year-old Breda man who died in hospital on Tuesday morning after a fire in a garage on Monday night, told the police before his death that he was tied up by multiple men and then set on fire, the police said in a statement. The police are looking for three suspects. So far no arrests were made.

The police responded to the fire in a garage on Sparrenweg at around 9:15 p.m. When they arrived, neighbors had already freed the seriously burned man and put him under the shower. He was rushed to hospital, where he gave the police a statement before he succumbed to his injuries during the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Newspaper AD identifies the victim as Ger van Zundert. The man was the owner of car company A&R. "The man had a car parts shop in the garage", a local resident said to the newspaper. "Two unknown men presented themselves as customers last night. The victim had to look for a part behind the computer. There he was tied up by the duo. They left the garage and the perpetrator entered. He first beat up the victim and then covered him in gasoline. He set the victim on fire and slowly drank a beer while his victim was on fire."

The police believe that a business conflict is behind this attack, a spokesperson said to NU.nl. "We assume that he knew at least one of the perpetrators", the spokesperson said. The police received a report of a bomb in the garage. "It soon became apparent that there was no bomb. A garage box, in which a company was located, was on fire."

This is not the first time Van Zundert was the target of a violent incident, according to AD. In 2017 a 50-year-old man from Breda threatened to blow himself up with a hand grenade, a gun, 44 bullets and eight fire bombs on the site of Van Zundert's company, then located on Essertstraat in Princenhage. The 50-year-old man eventually surrendered and was arrested. He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service and 10 months in prison.