Court shows mercy to desperate immigrant

An illegal immigrant who begged not to be jailed had his prayers answered when a magistrate yesterday handed down a suspended sentence, unusual for a conviction of using false documents to leave the island which usually carries imprisonment.

The Nigerian man, Innocent Okanemhen, 25, knelt down in the dock and pleaded with the magistrate not to send him to jail following his guilty plea.

Leafing through a law book on his desk, Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona remarked that he was empowered by law to hand down a suspended jail term.

Police Inspector Nezren Grixti, prosecuting, informed the court that was not what was usually done. The officer noted that in similar cases, other magistrates usually handed down an effective six-month jail term, in line with a judgment by the Chief Justice, which had become the bench mark.

The magistrate replied: "They have their conscience and I have mine. If I feel that (a suspended jail term) is a fair judgment, then that is what I will hand down."

Unaided by a lawyer, Mr Okanemhen did not understand what was going on. When the magistrate explained what a suspended jail term meant, he was elated. He clasped his hands together, got down on his knees again and said: "Thank you, thank you."

Mr Okanemhen, who enjoys protection under humanitarian status, had left the island in January and was caught in Italy. He was sent back to the island two days ago.