Woman confesses to slashing roommate

A Somali woman who had been asked to leave an open centre yesterday admitted to slashing a roommate's face.

Hodan Yusuuf Omar, 23, pleaded guilty to grievously injuring Habiba Abdi Naur at the Ħal Far open centre by slashing her with a knife.

Waiting in the dock before Magistrate Edwina Grima, Ms Yusuuf Omar listened to the court proceedings with one arm on her waist and the other on the dock.

Through an interpreter, she pleaded guilty and apologised for her actions.

She was given a two-year jail term suspended for four years.

The Refugees Commissioner has just granted her permission to travel to France and is expected to leave on July 9, police sources say.

Last week, Ms Yusuuf Omar and another Somali woman claimed they were made homeless by the authorities. She said that, together with her one-year-old girl, she was sleeping in a public garden after she was kicked out of the Ħal Far open centre because her time was up.

However, Alex Tortell, director of the Organisation for the Integration of and Welfare of Asylum Seekers, contested the woman's claim and said she had been asked to leave the open centre after the stabbing.

Even though Ms Abdi Naur had forgiven Ms Yusuuf Omar and even refused to press charges, the police still decided to press charges.

Ms Yusuuf Omar had been staying at the open centre since June 2008 and had received several warnings about breach of regulations, Mr Tortell said.