KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie is offering a $500,000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of those responsible for setting a homeless man ablaze Monday morning.

In a release on Monday afternoon, McKenzie strongly condemned the murder of the man identified as Lionel Johnson. He was reportedly set on fire in the vicinity of Heroes Circle.

READ: WATCH: Homeless man set on fire in Kingston

“This is an absolutely savage act. While we still don’t know the motive for this heinous crime, the suffering that Mr Johnson would have endured, as well as the taking of his life, reflects for me the lowest level of depravity,” the minister said. “He was well known to the Kingston and St Andrew Poor Relief Department, which regularly supported him by providing food, and at times he stayed at the Night Shelter at Church Street.”

“I condemn this horrible act and I call on my fellow Jamaicans to do the same, as well as to provide the police with any available facts,” McKenzie said, adding that his ministry has put up the half-a-million dollar reward “for information that results in the arrest of the person or persons responsible.”

“No civilized society can allow acts such as these to go unchallenged and unpunished,” he said, urging the homeless population to utilise the night shelters not only for food and hygiene but also for safety.

“While I know that some of them are inclined to spend the night on the streets, I am appealing to them to stay at these facilities which are built for them, and where they are assured of protection. I have also asked the local authorities to appeal directly to them in this regard, through their daily interactions,” McKenzie said.