A man suspected of an arson attack on the car of social media personality Adrian Zammit was denied bail on Monday after he pleaded not guilty to the crime.
Charles Mangion, a 51-year-old Santa Venera resident, stands accused of willingly setting fire to the vehicle and also causing damage to a third-party Kymco motorcycle parked nearby.
He was also charged with wilful damage to third-party property as well as knowingly handling stolen property.
Mangion is alleged to have set Zammit’s Mitsubishi Pajero on fire in the early hours of Saturday morning on Triq Stiefnu Zerafa.
Ħamrun police officers were alerted to the fire at around 1am.
CCTV footage retrieved from the crime scene appeared to show the suspected arsonist driving around the area several times in a Toyota Starlet, then flinging a blue bag under the targeted vehicle, dousing it in liquid and then setting it on fire.
Other footage retrieved from the suspect’s garage, situated inside a Qawra complex, showed Mangion loading and unloading his Toyota, prior to and after the incident, the prosecution explained.
A search of that garage also yielded allegedly stolen number plates, reported missing in early...
