A Libyan inmate was jailed for five years for setting fire to a cell and trying to set fire to another at the prisons two years ago.

Faiz Omar Elsallak, 45, was found guilty of setting fire to cell number 13 in Division 6 on March 4, 2012, and trying to set fire to cell number 11 in Division 13, three days later.

Magistrate Neville Camilleri also found him guilty of assaulting and threatening correctional officers, slightly injuring one of them when he bit him, causing damage at the prison and relapsing.

The court heard how, on March 4, 2012, correctional officers found a white substance in a container which they though to be drugs in Mr Elsallak cell so they moved him to another cell, in Division 6, to carry out a more thorough search. While Mr Elsallak was in cell 11 he set fire to the mattress.

Later on he was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital and was released on March 6. The following day, the court heard, the accused got involved in an argument with another two inmates. Prison staff intervened and sent the inmates to their cells. The accused was now in Division 13.

After some time officers noticed smoke close to the cell and, when they opened the door and went in with the fire hose, the accused assaulted them - grabbing the hose and the top of one of the officers and also biting one.

In his version the accused admitted to setting fire to the first cell and said he was upset because the white substance found in his cell was not drugs but something he used for his dentures. In fact, a court expert confirmed the substance was not drugs.

He said that when he was moved to Division 13, he did not intend to set fire to the cell. He was upset because officers were not opening the door, as they usually did, so he set fire to a paper and threw it out of the cell to grab their attention.

He said he got angry when they turned up with the hose and wet him since there was no fire in the cell.

Psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri said that when the accused was moved from one division to another he suffered from an acute reaction to stress and carried out deliberate self-harm but cutting himself with a blade. He said the accused suffered from drug addiction, personality issues and depression.

On handing down judgment the magistrate recommended that the prison authorities give him all the support needed for his health problems.