Father's bid to visit son falls foul of the law

An Albanian father was handed a suspended sentence and will be returned to his country of origin, after airport officials found him to be using a tampered Romanian residence permit as he travelled to visit his son.

29-year-old Turi Leka was handed a one year prison sentence, suspended for three years after he pleaded guilty to using an altered residence permit, falsifying documents and making a false declaration to the authorities. 

Lawyer Noel Bartolo told magistrate Ian Farrugia that the man had been using the fake documents in a bid to visit his son.

The magistrate admonished Leka for his actions, which risked earning him a prison sentence and warned him of the implications of committing another offence in Malta during the operative period of the sentence.

Leka will be repatriated.

Police inspector Mario Haber prosecuted.