Supreme Criminal Appeals Court judges have halved the jail sentence of a Bahraini arsonist convicted of partially burning two cars in January, including his mother’s.
The 24-year-old security guard blamed a moment of insanity for the Busaiteen blaze and the court heard neighbourhood children watched him fleeing the scene, riding off into the distance on a motorcycle.
The High Criminal Court initially sentenced him to six months behind bars on charges of intentionally setting fire to someone else’s property. His sentence has been reduced to three months on appeal.
He remains guilty of endangering other people’s lives and property although the fire only caused damage to sets of tyres.
The man earlier admitted to charges before the Public Prosecution and the police, but in court, he and his defence team placed a plea of insanity.
During the first court hearing, the man’s lawyers argued that he was innocent and suffered from a mental condition that made him lose control of his actions.
The fire-raiser claimed to go through psychological episodes and was left without a full recollection of events.
His argument was once again shot down during the appeals court hearing but the sentence was lowered because judges found the new sentence ‘more befitting’ to the crime he committed.
Government Hospitals psychiatrist did find that he suffered from a non-specified mental illness after a court-ordered evaluation, made worse by a drug dependency, but ruled that he was fit to stand trial.
An analysis of the fire damage by the Civil Defence reportedly found that the fire was ‘man-made’.
The GDN earlier reported that the blaze was put out by the manager of a restaurant near the family’s Busaiteen house. He used his own car’s fire extinguisher to stop the flames from causing more damage.
He testified to having overheard the arson plans and rushed to try to rescue his six-year-old Kia vehicle.
“I was told that the appellant was the one who did it, so I asked for his whereabouts then saw him on a red motorcycle, but when I called his name, he fled,” stated the 52-year-old Bahraini.
Prosecutors state that the appellant’s friends, who he reportedly went to fill up a fuel canister along with, confirmed that he went on a late-night excursion before the fire was started.
Meanwhile, his defence claimed that their client ‘doesn’t know how he did it or why’, and claimed that he was drunk at the time of the incident.
“He suffers from fits of losing awareness and commits acts he later has no recollection of, did not plan for and the consequences of which he does not understand,” read the defence memo.
“After these episodes end, he realises that he did something he should not have, but has no idea what led to this action in the first place.”
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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