Zejtun man on trial for arson

A man was at home when he heard what he thought was the sound of hail falling on a corrugated fibre roof but then saw a bright light and realised that there was a fire.

Keith Gafa explained how he ran outside from the garage, since the main door of his house was on fire, and tried to put out the fire with the help of others. It was about 9.40 p.m.

"I am trying to forget the episode, not remember it. It was not a pleasant experience," he added.

Gafa was testifying before Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono in the trial of Saviour Bugeja, 47, of Zejtun who is charged with arson, when he set fire to the main door of Joseph Gafa, the witness's father, who was his superior at the Drydocks, on March 28, 2000. He is also charged with endangering neighbouring buildings in which there were people, and damaging Gafa's property.

Bugeja chose to be tried by a judge as opposed to a panel of jurors.

The bill of indictment claims that on March 28, 2000, the door of Joseph Gafa's Marsaxlokk house was set on fire while Gafa and his family were inside the house. The fire caused considerable damage and was put out by the Fire Department.

Police investigated the case and spoke to Gafa, who told them that he had reason to suspect that Bugeja was the perpetrator. Police went to Bugeja's Zejtun house to question him about the matter and found him in his garage.

There they found his Peugeot and a pair of running shoes that were covered by socks that had been worn as overshoes. The shoes had grit on them and smelt of petrol, the bill claimed.

Tests revealed the presence of petrol on the shoes for which Bugeja did not provide a plausible explanation. Some time after the incident Bugeja told Gafa that he had set fire to his door.

Police investigations revealed that Gafa was Bugeja's superior at the Drydocks and they had been on bad terms for a long time.

The bill went on to say that on March 28, 2000, Bugeja went to Gafa's house armed with a petrol can and set his door on fire.

Bugeja wanted to damage Gafa's property and, although he was aware that Gafa was inside the house at the time, he did not care about the danger in which he was placing Gafa's family and neighbouring residents.

Raymond Muscat took the witness stand and said that he knew Bugeja because he too lived in Zejtun and both bred pigeons.

On the day of the fire he had gone to pick up Bugeja because his pigeons were sick and he needed Bugeja's help.

"I picked him up sometime between 8.15 and 8.30 p.m. and we went into the pigeon's pen on my roof. He gave me suggestions as to what I was to do. We did not stay longer than 15 minutes on the roof...

"Then we got into the car and I drove him home. Some time between 9.30 and 9.45 p.m. we arrived and I saw him walk into his house. We did not stop anywhere on the way," he said.

The case continues this morning.

Senior Counsel to the Republic Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell is prosecuting.

Dr Giannella Caruana Curran and Dr Emmanuel Mallia are appearing for Bugeja while Dr Chris Cilia is representing the Gafas.