Police have detained a 25-year-old man whose car burst into flames after he drove through a security checkpoint into a complex housing the prime minister's office, a security official said today.

The fire broke out after the man's car crashed into another vehicle in the carpark on Monday afternoon after slipping under a security boom when it was lifted to allow another motorist to pass, the official said.

"The driver has suffered some 80 percent burns and is in hospital in critical condition," he said.

Criminal Investigations Department chief Fauzi Shaari said police found "carbide and weapons," in the car. He did not elaborate.

Carbide is a flammable material easily available in Malaysia and is sometimes used by fishermen as a cheap form of lighting on their boats, or as an explosive depth charge to stun or kill fish, another security official said.

No explanation for actions

The mother of the man who is in custody told the official Bernama news agency from her home in northern Kedah state that she had asked her son, Razali Ismail, to buy the carbide for use as a light while fishing.

She denied that her son, who is a building contractor, had any ulterior motive in breaching the security at the prime minister's office but offered no explanation for his actions, Bernama said.

"I am sad that I asked Razali to buy the carbide. I did not realise it could cause a fire," she was quoted as saying.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is out of the country on a tour of New Zealand and Australia.