A career criminal is jailed over a major arson attack on a Midland shop estimated to have caused more than $2 million in damage, and he refuses to disclose why he carried it out. The case is heard in a Perth court on Tuesday.
Court heard the shop owner had been repeatedly threatened in the lead-up to the fire by people urging him to sell illegal cigarettes and vapes. Prosecutors say those threats are likely connected to the arson attack, according to reporting from multiple outlets. The defendant’s refusal to reveal a motive is raised in coverage, with no alternative explanation reported.
Across the sources, the central details are consistent: the scale of the damage, the arson’s timing relative to threats over illicit tobacco and vaping products, and the defendant’s refusal to provide further information to the court. The outlets do not report differing figures or materially different allegations beyond these points.
