A man from Togo who was granted refugee status by Germany was today sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for one year after admitting to resisting police during a surprise search.

The incident occurred at the Malta International Airport last Thursday when the 21-year-old Ali Abdoulaye arrived on a flight from Germany.

On arrival, he refused to be search and resisted three police officers.

Police Inspector Mario Haber told a court that the two police sergeants and a police constable were pushed before the man was arrested.

Defence lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar said it was the language barrier that caused the "misunderstanding".

He said his client also felt "offended" that the police decided to search him from a plane full of people.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona said that not understanding a language did not justify his behaviour with the police.

The accused pleaded guilty to resisting the officers and preventing them from carrying out their duties.  He apologised for the incident.