A 21-year-old Albanian man as handed a six-month suspended sentence after admitting to being in possession of a tampered ID card.

Igli Halili was arraigned this morning and charged with using the fake document.

He was arrested at the airport on Saturday after immigration officials found that the document had been tampered with. The name on the ID card was Francesco Portulano.

Inspector Mario Haber, prosecuting, said the Albanian was also charged with knowingly making use of the tampered document and falsifying immigration documents.

The Albanian admitted to the charges. His lawyer, Noel Bartolo, suggested a minimal suspended sentence. The court heard how the man will be repatriated later on today.

Magistrate Antonio Vella handed down a six-month jail sentence, which was suspended for two years.