A 20-year-old Somali man has been handed a suspended sentence after admitting to stabbing a co-national in an incident that took place early this morning.          

Inspector Robert Vella said another Somali man, Nasir Aabi, had gone to the Marsa police station with wounds to his arm, likely caused by a knife. The man was taken to hospital, where he was certified to have suffered slight injuries.

The accused, Saif Faisal Ibrahim Sahir, was charged with slightly injuring Mr Aabi, carrying a knife without holding a licence, breaching the peace, damaging a car and being drunk in public.  The accused, who lives at the Marsa Open Centre, pleaded guilty.

Legal aid lawyer Martin Fenech pointed out that the accused has lived in Malta for the past three years and has a clean criminal record. This was a one-off incident that merited a suspended sentence, he said.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella handed Mr Sahir a six month prison term, which was suspended for two years. The accused was also ordered not to approach the victim for a whole year against a personal guarantee of €200.