Man found not guilty of fraud and arson after no insurance policy found

A court has cleared a man of setting his own car on fire to claim insurance money the evidence on charges relating to arson and insurance fraud was deemed equivocal.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard Superintendent Josric Mifsud accuse Aldo Bajada, 40, from Naxxar of having set his Land Rover Freelander alight in an attempt to defraud his insurers.

Bajada was charged with arson, fraud, making a false report to the Police, damage to property and relapsing. Bajada was also cleared of these charges.

An arsonist had opened the driver door, spread accelerant, before lighting a piece of paper and throwing it inside before partially closing the door and leaving the scene.

The fact that the door was partially closed led the fire to be deprived of oxygen and die out. Bajada had told the police that he might not have closed the door properly and this had been confirmed by a court expert.

From the evidence and submissions made by his lawyer Joe Giglio, a number of issues, relating to the analysis by court experts as well as the way the case was managed by the prosecution, emerged, said the magistrate.

The court observed a number of shortcomings, amongst them that Bajada was arraigned four years after the fact and that no verification had been made as to whether he had even claimed on his policy. In fact it emerged that the car had been garaged and therefore not insured.