Suspended sentence for man carrying fake ID card

A 26-year-old man has been given a six-month prison sentence suspended to two years after he was found in possession of a fake Italian identity card. 

Farhoud Hassan from Syria, and resident in Greece, was charged on Monday afternoon with being in possession of an Italian identity card, issued in the name of Mohamed Hsin, which he had transferred to, or obtained from another person. 

He was also charged with falsifying or making changes to the ID, or carrying it in the knowledge that it was fake, possibly with the intention of using it. 

He pleaded guilty to the charges and informed the court that he was due to leave Malta for Greece.

The court took into account the fact that the document had been found in his possession but he had not been caught trying to use it. 

He was found guilty and handed a six-month sentence suspended to two years. 

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale told Hassan that if he did not leave Malta the following day, as he had stated, he would be brought back before the courts to face further charges. 

Inspector Hubert Gerada prosecuted.