Two of four people granted bail upon his arraignment over their alleged involvement in an arson attack on a vehicle at Mellieħa on Monday had their freedom from preventive arrest confirmed by a superior court.

Joel Falzon, 23, from Safi, had been arrested and arraigned last week alongside Paul Farrugia, a 28-year-old Siġġiewi resident, together with siblings Danica and Silvan Cilia, 22 and 20, from Rabat, after leading the police on a movie-like car chase that followed an arson attack on a vehicle at Selmun.

All four had been granted bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a €10,000 personal guarantee each, under orders to sign the bail book and abide by a curfew.

The Attorney General filed a request before the Criminal Court asking for bail to be revoked in respect of Mr Falzon, in view of the fact that proceedings were still at an early stage, there was a real risk of tampering with evidence and the accused failed to satisfy the legal requisites for bail.

Defence lawyer Joseph Giglio, however, countered that the facts of the case had not been contested with his client admitting to most of the charges. Moreover, the magisterial inquiry guaranteed the preservation of evidence, eliminating the risk of tampering.

When delivering its decree on Monday, the court, presided over by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, declared that there was no reason for varying the discretion exercised by the Magistrates’ Court which had imposed stringent bail conditions.

Moreover, so far, the accused appeared to have been abiding by the set conditions, the Court observed, adding that pending contestations were to be resolved on the basis of court expert reports and the testimony of police witnesses.

For these reasons, the court turned down the AG’s request, declaring that bail was not to be revoked.

In a separate decree, Mr Farrugia also had his bail confirmed by the Criminal Court.