A man who set fire to his car in an attempt to blame it on his estranged wife has been given a suspended jail term.

Nicolai Magrin, 36 of Sliema, set fire to the car on January 21, 2011 at about 2.30am on the Sliema seafront and was seen by two people.

The witnesses, Alberto Petraglia and Molly Anne Sorenson, both gave a description matching that of Mr Magrin as the person they saw at the scene before and after the car was set on fire.

The court heard how police officers investigating the crime turned up at his house immediately following the fire and as soon as they told him what had happened he said his former wife had done it. He told them he was going through messy separation proceedings and that was the reason why she would have done something like this.

The officers searched him and in his back pocket they found the insurance certificate of the car, smelling of petrol.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke in her judgment noted how Mr Magrin had also accused police officers of beating him and was charged with making a false claim.

The magistrate said she was convinced that Mr Magrin’s intention in setting fire to the car was to cause problems for his wife.

She sentenced him to nine months in jail suspended for 18 months.