One of four youngsters charged with regards to an arson attack upon a vehicle at Mellieħa last Monday evening will stay out on bail, in spite of an attempt by the Attorney General to have this revoked.

Paul Farrugia, a 28-year old Siġġiewi resident, was arrested on Wednesday, alongside Joel Falzon, 23, from Safi, siblings Danica and Silvan Cilia, 22 and 20,from Rabat after leading the police on a movie-like car chase after allegedly setting fire to a vehicle at Selmun.

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

The following day, the Attorney General filed a request before the Criminal Court asking for bail to be revoked in respect of Mr Farrugia, since 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.

The man’s defence lawyers, Roberto Montalto and Joseph Giglio, countered that the facts of the case had not been contested, with their client admitting to most of the charges. Moreover, the magisterial inquiry guaranteed the preservation of evidence, thus 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 Magistrate’s 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 still contested facts were to be resolved on the basis of court expert reports and the testimony of police witnesses.

For this reasons, the court turned down the AG’s request, decreeing that the bail was to stand.