School cleaner arraigned for setting fire to iBins in Paola

A man has admitted to having set fire to seven iBins in Raħal Ġdid, earlier this week, causing nearly €5,000 in damages.

Marco Farrugia, a 48-year-old cleaner from Bormla, was arraigned before magistrate Leonard Caruana, accused of setting fire to the large bins in Raħal Ġdid and causing criminal damage to the detriment of GreenPak.

He admitted to the charges, confirming his guilty plea, even after being given time to reconsider and consult with his lawyer.

Police Inspectors Mario Xiberras and Antonello Magri, together with prosecutor Joseph Camilleri Azarov from the Attorney General’s office

Inspector Xiberras explained how, on December 19, police at Raħal Ġdid received a report of a number of recycling bins in the locality being on fire. Footage of the fire had caused uproar when it was published on social media, he said.

Farrugia was arrested yesterday after police received information that the suspect might work at a school in the south of Malta. When the police pulled up to the school, the defendant, who was outside, panicked and ran inside. He was subsequently arrested and taken for questioning.

Lawyer Martin Farrugia, legal aid counsel, asked that the parties be permitted to approach the bench to discuss the case privately with the magistrate. The request was granted.

After returning to his seat, the lawyer made his submissions on punishment, telling the court that informal discussions with the prosecution had arrived at a two-year suspended sentence.

A minimum sentence was merited on the grounds of the defendant’s early admission, clean criminal record, regret for his actions and his willingness to pay for the damage in monthly instalments, said the defence.

The court was told that seven iBins, worth €700 each, had been destroyed in the fire.

The court, in view of Farrugia’s admission of guilt, convicted him of the offences and sentenced him to imprisonment for two years, which were suspended for four years, as well as ordering him to pay €4,900 to the company in instalments over the next 36 months.