Somali youth convicted of absconding to Ireland

An 18-year-old Somali migrant residing at Hal Far Open Centre has been handed a four-month jail term suspended for two years after pleading guilty to absconding from Malta.

Said Burhan Mohamed, 18, of Mogadishu, Somalia, admitted to absconding from Malta by using a fake passport.

The court heard how the accused had boarded a catamaran to Sicily and then made up his way to Italy, and then Germany. He then caught a plane to Dublin, where immigration officials noticed that the man had been using false documents.

The Irish authorities then informed the Maltese immigration department and the accused was identified through his fingerprints before being brought back to Malta.

Standing before Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, the Somali youth admitted to absconding. In its decree, the court noted that the man had cooperated with the police, and consequently handed the man a four-month jail term suspended for two years.

The court also reprimanded the accused, describing the suspended sentence as a “last chance.”

Inspector Darren Buhagiar prosecuted, while lawyer Martin Fenech was legal aid.