A man who admitted to setting a BMW car on fire in February was handed a suspended sentence on Tuesday and ordered to reimburse the car owner.

Mustafa Ozturk, a Turkish shop manager living at Luqa, had admitted upon arraignment last month to the arson which took place on Clarence Street, Msida on February 26 at 5.45am.

The car was a total loss. 

The police tracked down Ozturk within five days and he admitted to the crime upon his arraignment.

The man’s lawyer, Alfred Abela, pointed out this had been a “one off” incident and highlighted the accused’s “perfectly clean criminal record.”

The prosecution agreed, pointing out that the accused had cooperated fully throughout the investigation.

Those factors were taken into consideration by the court when meting out punishment.

The accused had fully cooperated from the very start, had registered an early guilty plea and had a clean criminal record, observed Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, also noting that the incident appeared to be “out of character.”

When all was considered the court declared the man guilty upon his own admission and condemned him to a two-year jail term suspended for three years, whilst ordering him to reimburse €14,000 to the victim, payable in monthly instalments.

The court also issued a restraining order against the accused, valid for 3 years, and ordered him to pay another €258.60 to cover court expert expenses.

The motive behind the arson was not revealed in court. 

Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Jonathan Ransley prosecuted.

Lawyers Alfred Abela and Rene’ Darmanin were defence counsel.