Pakistani rickshaw driver protesting against bribes demands from police dies

Pakistani officials say a rickshaw driver who set himself on fire to protest police demands for bribes, has died of severe burns in Karachi.

Mohammad Khalid died on Monday morning, two days after setting himself on fire.

Khalid's self-immolation — according to a letter featured on Pakistan's Geo Television station — was an act of protest against police demands for bribes.

Khalid reportedly refused to pay a bribe to an officer who then fined Khalid a ticket amounting to a quarter of his daily earnings.

Amir Ahmed Shaikh, the police chief in Karachi, said an investigation is underway.

Following the incident, Shaikh ordered the police not to impose heavy fines on rickshaw drivers for traffic violations in the city.

A rickshaw is a motorized three-wheeled vehicle usually carrying one passenger.