Smoke without fire in 1990 arson case

A court case involving a fire that occurred in 1990 has finally been extinguished after the alleged arsonist was acquitted on lack of evidence.

Mario Mangion, 49, of Ħamrun, had been charged with setting fire to a mechanics workshop, Spares Garage, along Ta’ Xbiex seafront on September 12, 1990 and causing some €116,000 worth of damage.

Magistrate Edwina Grima said a police statement was taken from Mr Mangion in September, 1994 and the case was formerly filed in 1999. Since the police had trouble trying to notify him of the case, proceedings could only start in March 2010.

In the statement and during the case, Mr Mangion denied his involvement. The only hard evidence linking him to the fire was the fact that the same paint found on the door of the garage was also found on one of the rims of his car. Even though he was seen near the garage on the night in question, it was a fact that he used to go to a restaurant near the garage for a drink. There was also no bad blood between the owner of the garage and the accused, the magistrate said.

The magistrate ruled that the evidence did not point in one direction but in many and that fact merited his acquittal.

Lawyer David Farrugia Sacco appeared for the accused.