A 43-year-old Syrian man today pleaded guilty to being in possession of someone else’s identity card.

Mohamed Ahmed Chawi, who works as as a chef, arrived in Malta on a Turkish Airlines flight yesterday. It was the immigration officers at the airport who realised that the identity card’s photo had been replaced.

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigano handed down a six month sentence suspended for a year. Arrangements have been made for the man to go back to Turkey.

Lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutjar acted as legal aid.