A 29-year-old man yesterday pleaded not guilty to setting a cruise boat on fire.

Joswil Galea, from Pieta’, was accused before Magistrate Lawrence Quintano, of setting a cruise boat called Mermaid on fire on 26 September at 4am at St Paul’s Bay. He was also accused of setting it on fire by using petrol while the boat was berthed next to another cruise boat in which there were people, and of causing more than Lm500 damages at the detriment of Paul Zammit.

He was placed under house arrest against a Lm1,000 deposit and a Lm3,000 personal guarantee. The man can leave house arrest only to consult with his lawyers and to medicate his wounds, as 60 per cent of his body is covered in burns.

Until a few days ago, Mr Galea was recovered at the St Luke’s Hospital Intensive Therapy Unit and at times was in critical condition.

The man was apprehended after policemen on patrol at Islets Promenade, St Paul’s Bay, noticed a boat on fire and spotted a man swimming towards the shore and running towards the Bugibba area. On arrest, he was taken by ambulance and recovered at the St Luke’s Hospital Burns Unit as he was suffering from extensive burns on his upper body.

Police Inspectors Paul Bond and Carmelo Magri led the prosecution while Dr Emanuel Mallia and Dr Giannella Caruana Curran appeared for the accused.