A Filipino man who handed over his passport to a money lender to guarantee repayment of a €2,000 loan, was handed a suspended sentence this morning and is due to be repatriated as soon as local authorities can book him on a flight back home.

Eduardo Aquino Dumalag, 48, was today escorted to court where, after consulting his lawyer, he pleaded guilty to having handed over his passport to a third party.

The prosecution explained how the case had come to light when the accused had visited the Identity Malta offices in order to apply for a residence permit. Authority officials called in the police when they discovered that the man had an expired visa.

Upon questioning, the man had confessed that he had surrendered his passport to a foreign lady, allegedly married to a Maltese man, who had demanded the document by way of guarantee for the repayment of a sum loaned to the accused.

The woman is reportedly also due to be arraigned shortly under summons over her alleged involvement in the affair.

Meanwhile, her debtor was handed a five-month jail term suspended for 18 months after the court, presided over by Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, took note of the nature of his wrongdoing and the fact that he had cooperated with the police.

After the sitting, the man was to be held in police custody pending finalisation of his travel arrangements.

Inspector Darren Buhagiar prosecuted.
Lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace was defence counsel.