Cleared of threatening to burn down bar

A man has been cleared of threatening a bar tender that he would burn down his bar after a magistrate ruled that the case had not been sufficiently proven.

Jesmond Gatt, 37, of Hamrun had been charged with threatening Mark Catania and causing about Lm65 damage at the Federation of Racing Pigeons Club in Hamrun on January 27, 2005.

Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani heard Mr Catania say that Mr Gatt had been following him for several months and often mentioned setting the bar on fire.

On the day in question, Mr Gatt had, once again, mentioned torching the bar. He said Mr Gatt then grabbed a bottle of Tequila from behind the counter, poured it over his own head, and asked Mr Catania to set him on fire.

A commotion broke out and Mr Gatt hurled objects and broke drinking glasses at the bar.

But Mr Gatt said that on that day, Mr Catania had walked out from behind the counter, pulled him towards him and emptied a bottle of Tequila over his head and asked someone in the bar to hand him a lighter.

On hearing this, Mr Gatt ran out of the bar and Mr Catania grabbed a stool and threw it at him, breaking drinking glasses.

The magistrate heard how Mr Catania who drank a considerable amount of wine each day and had come to believe Mr Gatt wanted to burn down his bar.

Instead of referring the matter to the police, he took matters into his own hands and poured a bottle of Tequila over Mr Gatt and threatened to set him alight.

After evaluating the evidence, the Magistrate ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove that Mr Gatt caused the damage at the bar. The court could not find Mr Gatt guilty.

Police Inspector Mario Bonello prosecuted.

Lawyer Franco Debono appeared for Mr Gatt.