A 38-year old man from Sliema was found guilty of trying to get his wife into trouble by setting his car ablaze and telling the police that it was the wife who did it. Nicolai Magrin, who is in marriage separation proceedings, also lied in court by saying that the police were rough on him and practically beat him up.

Magrin was jailed for nine months, the term being suspended for 18 months by Magistrate Doreen Clarke.

The incident happened on New Year’s Day, 2011 at around 2.30 am in Sliema. Magrin was also found guilty of lying to the police and of threatening them by inviting them to fight.

A number of persons testified about the case. Albert Petraglia said that as he was waiting for his girlfriend he saw a tall, thin man with long hair and wearing jeans and a black jacket getting out of a car, holding a bottle in his hand.

He then saw smoke coming out of the car, the man passing past a nearby bus stop and walking near a woman who was walking her dog.

The man then crossed the road and started running.

The woman who was walking her dog was Molly Anne Sorrenson, who told the court she noticed smoke coming out from inside a car and was in two minds as to whether or not she should telephone the police, believing the smoke would die out without any intervention. She said that a man was walking near her and she asked him if the car that was engulfed in smoke was his, but he said no.

She took out her mobile, and when she looked back again, the man had disappeared. She telephoned the police, and as she was doing so a window glass burst and the vehicle went up in flames. The police came immediately and even spoke to Petraglia, the woman having just left.

The accused always denied that he had set fire to the car, even after the police found an insurance document on him which had a smell of fuel.

The police went to Magrin’s residence, where he continued blaming his wife for the fire, and saying that he was innocent. He also said that the police had threatened him, and practically beat him up as they were too rough on him.

Evidence showed that it was Magrin who wanted to fight the police, and according to the court it was not true that the police were rough with him at the police station, more so after the health centre report was verified.

Inspector Anne Marie Micallef prosecuted; Dr Arthur Azzopardi was defence counsel.