A 24-year-old repeat offender was remanded in custody on Friday after pleading not guilty to conspiring with another man to set fire to a car owned by his ex-girlfriend's new partner. 

Luke Vella, from Żabbar, was charged with conspiring with someone to commit arson on a car belonging to a man on November 22. He was also charged with threatening the couple and causing them to fear violence. 

The long list of charges included a number of breaches to several previous court orders and judgments. 

Before Magistrate Ian Farrugia, Vella pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. 

The court heard how the police received information about a plan that was being baked for a car to be set alight. Two men were arrested and the other man, who has not yet been charged, said he had been commissioned by Vella. 

The court refused a request for bail. When asked whether his father was alive, Vella said he was in prison too. 

Police Inspectors Mario Xiberras Jeffrey Scicluna prosecuted.  Lawyer Matthew Xuereb and Alex Scerri Herrera appeared for the man. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.