Man who tried leaving Malta with friend's passport gets a suspended sentence

Ata Augustine overstayed in Malta and was caught leaving to Italy with a friend's passport

Migrant got suspended sentence after caught leaving Malta with friend's passport
Migrant got suspended sentence after caught leaving Malta with friend's passport

A Ghanian man who used his friend’s passport in an attempt not to miss an appointment in Italy has been spared an effective jail term.

Ata Augustine, 31, from Ghana was arrested at the airport on Wednesday evening as he was checking in for a flight to Catania. The documents he was using were genuine but had been issued to someone else.

Inspector Claire Borg told Magistrate Monica Vella the travel documents belonged to Ata’s friend, who lived in Italy. Augustine was leaving Malta to attend an appointment with the Italian immigration authorities during which he was supposed to have his fingerprints recorded.

The man pleaded guilty to charges of possession and using another person’s passport and making a false statement to the principal immigration officer.

The court was told that Augustine needed to impersonate his friend because he was supposed to have left Malta nine months ago. The prosecution suggested the court opt for an effective prison sentence, as such cases were serious and were becoming increasingly frequent.

Lawyer Joseph Ellis, appearing as legal aid to the accused, said that a suspended sentence should be imposed because of the accused’s cooperation with the police. “He was arraigned less than an hour after questioning. It is a very early guilty plea,” Ellis said.

The fact that the cases are serious and frequent should not militate against legal provisions, said the lawyer, pointing out that the law allowed suspended sentences for serious offences. Why insist on imprisonment in this case, he asked. "Is it because of his skin colour?"

Inspector Mario Haber, prosecuting together with Borg objected, arguing that similar charges had been pressed against people of all races. “We had Ukrainians, Chinese, even Americans,” the police inspector said.

Ellis insisted his client had been in Malta for more than a year and was never accused of any crime during this time. "If he had then there would be grounds for a custodial sentence, but clean conduct weighed in favour of suspension," said the lawyer.

The court handed the man a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.