A man was charged with arson when he set fire to the main door of a Ħamrun house while an elderly man was inside.

Jesmond Gatt, 54, from Ħamrun, denied arson and damaging the property when he appeared before Magistrate Elaine Rizzo.

Police Inspector Elisia Scicluna explained how on Wednesday night police received a report that part of the door of house in the Ħamrun square was on fire.

Police retrieved CCTV footage that led to the identification of the accused.

It showed that he set the door on fire, but the flames went out. He then returned to set it alight again.

Gatt, through his lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Adriana Zammit, filed a bail request.

The prosecution objected saying that the footage showed he was determined to set the door on fire.

Gatt had a long criminal record and only recently was released from prison following a four-year jail term, the prosecution added.

Bail was denied. 

He faces 12 years in jail if found guilty. Lawyer Joseph Camilleri Azarov from the Attorney General’s office prosecuted with police inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna, Mario Sciberras and Elisia Scicluna.

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