SA court told CFS arsonist Malcolm Kym Vawser had explosive-making, plane-bombing information on his home computer

A CFS volunteer and arsonist who claimed he was praying to God is “a dangerous man” who had information about homemade explosives and bombing aircraft on his home computer, a court has heard.

A CFS volunteer and arsonist who claimed he was praying to God is “a dangerous man” who kept homemade explosives and aircraft-bombing data on his home computer, a court has heard.

Prosecutors today urged the District Court to prioritise community safety when sentencing Malcolm Kym Vawser for a blaze he lit at Clarendon.

They said Vawser continued to deny any wrongdoing, despite the verdict of a jury, and now claimed SA Police had “doctored photographs” to “set him up”.

Defence counsel called for clemency, saying Vawser had recently been diagnosed with a blood disorder that is causing him to “rust internally” and may have affected his mental health.

Judge Paul Muscat said that submission sat poorly with the evidence at trial.

“He carefully planned and executed this crime ... it was not spur of the moment, it was something he had been thinking about and planning for some considerable time,” he said.

“This is as serious a case of lighting a bushfire as one can possibly get, not to mention the location — this fire was heading toward a power station.

“Devastation certainly would have resulted if the fire had got in there ... maybe that was his intention in choosing that location.”

Vawser, 56, of Southern Vales, was found guilty at trial of lighting the bushfire along Frith Rd, Clarendon, in February last year.

He lit the fire following a CFS training session, and just three months after receiving a dress uniform and gold watch for his long service.

Jurors rejected Vawser’s claim he was only in the area because of a “spontaneous” decision to pray somewhere he could have “solitude with God”, as Jesus did in The Bible.

Today, the court heard a community impact statement from Commissioner for Victims’ Rights Michael O’Connell.

He said Vawser’s crime had impacted the physical, emotional, psychological and financial wellbeing of the Adelaide Hills community.

“His act is not just a crime, it is a betrayal that has fostered anger, fear and anxiety amongst the community in which it happens as well as more broadly,” he said.

Mr O’Connell said Vawser had undermined public confidence in the CFS and “compromised the trust” of his peers.

Peter Longson, prosecuting, said Vawser had no criminal history but did have 11 documents on his computer “relating to the manufacture of explosives and explosives on aircraft”.

“We are in a situation where Vaswer not only still rejects the jury verdict but has taken it one step further, making allegations of impropriety by police,” he said.

“I don’t make this submission lightly but Vawser, in his current state, represents a danger to the community ... he is a dangerous man.”

Heather Stokes, for Vawser, conceded her client had accused police of “doctoring photographs” in an effort to blame him for the fires.

She asked for time to obtain medical reports about her client’s newly-diagnosed haemochromatosis, in which the blood overproduces iron.

“If not treated, he can rust internally ... when undiagnosed, it can have an impact upon mental health,” she said.

Judge Muscat remanded Vawser in custody for further submissions in July.