A man who was found guilty of setting fire to his brother’s luxury car, parked in the garage of their family’s home, has been ordered to pay an extra fine by an appeals court.
In August, the 45-year-old Bahraini man was sentenced to three years in prison by the High Criminal Court.
However, the Public Prosecution did not find that the penalty was sufficient and appealed the verdict, asking judges to fine him the amount of money that was required to repair the BMW vehicle.
The Supreme Criminal Appeals Court has added a BD2,000 fine for damages.
According to court documents, the defendant went to his family’s residence in Salmabad and drenched the car with fuel, which he transported in a plastic container.
He ignited the flames with a lighter, the court heard, and the fire spread rapidly, damaging the garage.
The brother, who owns the car, was reportedly asleep at the time of the incident. However, he woke up soon to see his vehicle burning and called the Civil Defence, which put out the flames.
A Civil Defence report later stated that the fire appeared to have been started intentionally.
Admitting to the crime during Public Prosecution hearings, the defendant said that he did not expect the fire to cause much destruction and recounted a history of disputes and arguments with his sibling.
He claimed that the victim had defaced some motorcycles in his possession, which were owned by others, and had gotten in trouble with the owners over fixing the bikes.
In his statement, he told prosecutors that he was remorseful and did what he did in a state of rage.
He also claimed that he felt there were no solutions to the disputes between him and his brother.
The High Criminal Court found him guilty of committing arson, causing significant damage to property, and posting a threat to people’s lives.
In the initial trial, the Public Prosecution asked judges to penalise the defendant to the fullest extent of the law, which is why it appealed the ruling when it did not deem it satisfactory or proportional to the crime.
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