Facts
Reinhold Müller was the owner of a valuable painting that he had insured against transportation risks, including fire, with the insurance company "Helvetia". On December 22, 1957, Müller drove with his employee Mohler in a car owned by his company Primera AG, allegedly to transport the painting from Zurich to Bern. Between Berikon and Zufikon, Mohler pretended that the car had a mechanical breakdown, whereupon Müller poured gasoline over the rags in the car and set them on fire. The fire completely destroyed the painting as well as the interior of the vehicle.
Müller and Mohler filed a false damage claim with the insurance company and demanded the payment of the insurance sum of 75,000 francs. However, the insurance company refused to cover the damage, as it had become suspicious.
Furthermore, the Müller brothers had dismantled a support mast of the Reigoldswil-Wasserfallen cable car, which had been erected on behalf of the Autobus AG, and cut the towing cable in the night of January 14/15, 1958, in order to interrupt the operation of the cable car for some time.
Considerations
The court dealt with two main questions
1. Arson The court found that the fire ignited by Müller had reached such an extent that it could no longer be controlled by the perpetrator, and thus the requirements for arson under Art. 221 para. 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) were met. However, the court saw no damage to a third party, as the insurer was released from the obligation to perform due to the intentional arson by the policyholder. Therefore, the court acquitted Müller of…