A Qormi victim of a recent arson attempt was granted bail on Thursday after taking matters into his own hands by going after the suspected mastermind of the arson in a wild movie-style car chase.
Paul Mallia, 36, was escorted to court under arrest after his wild antics behind the wheel were captured on footage which showed a black vehicle, allegedly driven by the man, chasing and twice ramming a smaller car allegedly driven by Sage Gauci.
The latter, an 18-year old Valletta resident currently out on bail following his arraignment earlier in April after being found in possession of 10 kilograms of cannabis, was targeted as the prime suspect by Mr Mallia after the front door of his home was set on fire in the early hours of Monday.
Spurred on by this suspicion, the man acted upon instinct when he glimpsed Mr Gauci driving by and, rather than allowing the police to carry on with investigations so that the arsonist might be brought to justice, decided to resolve matters himself.
“This was a western-style attitude,” prosecuting officer Inspector James Grech explained in court during the arraignment where Mr Mallia pleaded not guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm, voluntary damage to third party property and reckless driving.
The man was further charged with having committed the alleged wrongdoing during the operative period of a suspended sentence.
A request for bail was objected to by the prosecution on account of the likely danger faced by the victim and his family were the accused be granted freedom from preventive arrest.
However, Franco Debono appearing parte civile together with Gianluca Caruana Curran, pointed out that they had no issue with bail so long as the man did not communicate in any manner or approach their client and his relatives.
Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, presiding over the hearing, upheld the request for bail against a deposit of €500, a personal guarantee of €2,000 and a curfew between 8pm and 7am. The court further ordered the man to sign the bail book twice a week and to avoid all contact with the witnesses.
A protection order was also issued in favour of the victim.
Inspector Kylie Borg also assisted in the prosecution. Lawyers Francois Dalli and Jean Karl Farrugia were defence counsel.