Two asylum seekers admit to forged-document offences in separate airport cases

Two individuals were arraigned in court on Thursday in separate cases involving the use of forged documents at Malta International Airport.

Both admitted to the charges.

In the first case, Magistrate Antoine Agius Bonnici sentenced 55-year-old Hadiya Khudker to six months in prison after she admitted to using a forged German passport and other false documents.

Khudker, who resides in Greece and holds a Greek asylum seeker document, was stopped on Tuesday morning while attempting to board a KM Airlines flight to Munich.

Inspector Karl Roberts told the court that airport staff had detected irregularities in the passport she presented. Khudker was taken to the police depot, where she received medical attention and was assisted by a Kurdish interpreter. She informed investigators that she had purchased the passport and travel ticket from third parties.

Khudker pleaded guilty to four charges, including knowingly making use of a forged official document, possession of a forged document, use of a forged private document, and attempting to use a passport issued to another person.

Defence counsel Sarah Ciliberti and the prosecution agreed that the minimum custodial term was appropriate in view of her early admission and cooperation. The court imposed a six-month effective imprisonment.

In a separate arraignment before the same court, a sixteen-year-old Syrian national also admitted to similar offences after being intercepted at the airport earlier that morning. He was attempting to board a KM Airlines flight to Munich using a passport that was not his.

The inspector testified that the teenager was stopped at around 9:20am and taken to an airport office. Since the accused was already under the care of a state facility, he was not held in the lock-up.

The minor, assisted by lawyer Francois Dalli, admitted to charges of making false declarations to obtain a benefit, using or possessing forged documents, providing false information in a prospectus, and attempting to use a passport issued to another person. The defence did not request bail.

Given his age, the court ordered a presentencing report and directed that the case be assigned according to law for sentencing at a later stage.

Both cases were prosecuted by Inspector Karl Roberts.