Updated 3.15pm, recasts with arraignment

A man who admitted to setting some Greenpak bins on fire at Paola on Tuesday was handed a suspended sentence and ordered to refund the company €4,900 plus VAT. 

Marco Farrugia, a 49-year-old Cospicua resident working as a cleaner in a school, was charged with wilfully setting the bins on fire in the early hours of Tuesday between 3 and 6am.

He was also charged with wilful damage to the detriment of Greenpak. 

Investigations kicked off as soon as the Paola police received a report about the fire. 

A video of the incident was shared on social media triggering some furore, explained prosecuting inspector Mario Xiberras. 

The suspect was tracked down after police got information that the man most likely worked at a school in the south of the island. 

Xiberras headed there on Wednesday morning. 

The minute he and a colleague arrived, they spotted the suspect standing by the front door. 

The man somehow recognised one of the officers, turned and headed indoors at a fast pace. 

He was arrested and read his rights. 

The accused pleaded guilty upon arraignment on Thursday and confirmed that plea after given time to reconsider. 

The company had informed the police that the seven i-Bins cost €700 each, excluding VAT. 

When making submissions on punishment, legal aid lawyer Martin Farrugia argued that the accused had an untainted criminal record, had fully cooperated and was sorry for what he did. 

He was willing to reimburse the damages. 

A minimum punishment was appropriate in the circumstances, said the lawyer.

After hearing submissions, the court, presided over by Magistrate Leonard Caruana, condemned the accused to two years imprisonment suspended for four years. 

He was also ordered to refund Greenpak for the seven bins costing €700 each and to do so within 36 months. 

AG lawyer Joseph Camilleri Azarov together with inspectors Mario Xiberras, Jeffrey Scicluna and Antonello Magri prosecuted. Lawyer Martin Farrugia was legal aid counsel.