A man suspected of an arson attack on the car of social media personality Adrian Zammit was denied bail on Monday after he pleaded not guilty to the crime. 

Charles Mangion, a 51-year-old Santa Venera resident, stands accused of willingly setting fire to the vehicle and also causing damage to a third-party Kymco motorcycle parked nearby.

He was also charged with wilful damage to third-party property as well as knowingly handling stolen property. 

Mangion is alleged to have set Zammit’s Mitsubishi Pajero on fire in the early hours of Saturday morning on Triq Stiefnu Zerafa. 

Ħamrun police officers were alerted to the fire at around 1am. 

CCTV footage retrieved from the crime scene appeared to show the suspected arsonist driving around the area several times in a Toyota Starlet, then flinging a blue bag under the targeted vehicle, dousing it in liquid and then setting it on fire. 

Other footage retrieved from the suspect’s garage, situated inside a Qawra complex, showed Mangion loading and unloading his Toyota, prior to and after the incident, the prosecution explained. 

A search of that garage also yielded allegedly stolen number plates, reported missing in early October. 

Moreover, clothes identical to those worn by the suspect in the footage were retrieved from Mangion’s home. 

Yet, when confronted with that evidence, the man denied involvement in the arson attack. 

He denied the charges upon his arraignment today. 

His lawyer, Mario Mifsud, requested bail, rebutting the prosecution’s objection on the grounds that investigations were still ongoing, arguing that evidence appeared to have been preserved. 

The prosecution pointed out that civilian witnesses, including the two alleged victims, were still to testify, one of whom was a friend of the accused. 

In fact the two had recently dined out together, added the prosecution. 

The accused’s lawyer argued that that was not sufficient reason to deny bail, adding that the court could impose adequate conditions and besides, the accused had a fixed address and a job.

After hearing submissions the court, presided over by magistrate Elaine Mercieca, turned down the request in view of the risk of tampering with evidence. 

Inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Mario Xiberras prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Andreas Vella and Daniel Tabone. Lawyer Mario Mifsud was defence counsel.