Man sentenced to 18 years for setting wife on fire in front of child

A man who doused his wife with gasoline in front of their child and set her on fire in Tashkent has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. QALAMPIR.UZ reviewed the court's verdict.

According to the ruling, on January 15 of this year, the defendant—42-year-old Sh.B.—while intoxicated, brought two liters of gasoline to an apartment located in the “Muhandislar” residential complex in the Yakkasaroy district of Tashkent. At the time, his wife, N.S., and their son, K.Q., were living there under a temporary rental agreement. Sh.B. took N.S. into the kitchen, poured gasoline over her body and around the kitchen, and set the area on fire. The couple had been living separately since December 2024 due to a family dispute.

A forensic medical examination revealed that N.S. sustained second- and third-degree thermal burns over 75 percent of her body, including her head, face, neck, upper torso, both ears, arms, buttocks, and legs. She also suffered from first- and second-degree thermoinhalation injuries. Her condition was assessed as life-threatening, with a Frank index of 185 units and third-degree shock. The injuries were classified as severe.

N.S. was taken to the Republican Emergency Medical Center by ambulance, and her life was saved thanks to timely and qualified medical intervention by doctors.

On June 17, the Yakkasaroy District Court for Criminal Cases heard the case. The court found Sh.B. guilty under several provisions of the Criminal Code: Article 25 in conjunction with Article 97, Part 2, subparagraphs “d” and “j” (Attempted intentional murder), and Article 173, Part 2, subparagraph “b” (Intentional destruction or property damage). He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. The sentence was determined by partially combining punishments under Article 59 of the Criminal Code (Sentencing for multiple crimes), to be served in a general-regime penal colony.

It is worth recalling that earlier, a 31-year-old man—a father of five—was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in prison for repeatedly raping his second wife’s 11-year-old daughter.