A man was woken up at the crack of dawn with the news that his car had been set ablaze and rushed outside the house to find that the Civil Defence had already put out the fire, a court heard.
A 28-year-old Bahraini is standing trial in absentia at the High Criminal Court on charges of intentionally setting fire to the vehicle, and posing a threat to people’s lives and property.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the defendant was seen fleeing on a bicycle after breaking the car’s back window to start the fire.
Though the case’s first hearing took place yesterday, judges scheduled a date for the verdict as neither the defendant nor an attorney representing him appeared in court.
According to documents, the incident took place in May and the defendant and the owner of the car are neighbours, living in A’ali.
“I was woken up by my brother at 4.30am, telling me that my car was in flames,” the alleged Bahraini victim earlier told the Public Prosecution.
“I quickly put on my clothes to check out the situation, and saw policemen and Civil Defence personnel outside my house. They had already gotten the fire under control.
“I was told that benzene was used to start the fire.”
At 7am, the alleged victim went to his neighbour’s house, asking her to take a look at what the CCTV camera outside her house recorded.
The video footage reportedly captured the defendant in the act and clearly showed his facial features, which eventually led to him being identified.
CCTV recordings from houses leading up to the scene of the crime also reportedly proved the man’s presence in the area, and prosecutors said the time stamps on the other recordings were consistent with the time of the alleged crime.
A police detective also said his sources claimed to have seen the Bahraini arsonist on a bike. The High Criminal Court adjourned the case to September 30 when judges will issue a verdict.
If the defendant turns himself in before the hearing, the verdict date will be cancelled. A new trial will then commence with the defence’s input.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))