Identity card forger given suspended sentence

Mehmet Arslan, a 36-year-old Turkish national and father of three, was today given a suspended sentence for forging a foreign identity card.

Arslan was arraigned before magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech accused of having, on 8 March and the day preceding that date, forged a French ID card belonging to a third party, or had in his possession such an identification document which he knew was forged.

He was also accused of having made other forgeries or made use of other forged documents during the same period of time, and of having forged documents issued under the Immigration Act.

The accused admitted to the charges brought forward against him.

The court heard how Arslan had originally come to Malta with his wife and three children. His wife and two of his children had since left Malta and went to Germany, however his eight-year-old son was still with him on the island.

In view of his caring responsibilities for his young son, the magistrate sentenced the accused to one year in prison suspended for two years.

“If you commit any other crime in these two years, the authorities will take your child away from you. If you care for your child, you will not commit any crimes. I am giving you a suspended sentence because the police have indicated that you need to take care of a minor,” the magistrate told the accused, who was visibly relieved after hearing the sentence.

Inspector Mario Haber prosecuted.

Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar was legal aid for the accused.