Pensioner charged with setting fire to his own car

Accused denied using the car for over a day but CCTV and investigations revealed he had made use of the car hours before the incident

24 February 2026, 7:41pm
by Maya Galea

1 min read

Court building in Valletta (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

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56-year-old Charles Cassar was on Tuesday charged with arson, breaching the public peace and littering.

Police were informed of a car burning in Fomm ir-Rih. The car was registered to the accused.

The Rabat man informed police he had last used his vehicle over a day prior to the incident.

However, investigations revealed Cassar had used the car in the evening of the previous day and CCTV also saw the accused driving the car at 1am of the following day.

Police discovered that the man set fire to his own car.

He plead guilty and a request for bail was made. There was no objection from the prosecution and bail was granted.

The case was scheduled for sentencing on 10 March at 10am.

Inspectors Lydon Zammit, Keith Rizzo and Italo Mizzi together with AG lawyer Celine Fenech prosecuted.

Magistrate Giannella Camilleri Busuttil presided over the arraignment.

Maya Galea is a MaltaToday court reporter. She is a second year law student at the Univers...