A Swedish national yesterday turned up at a police station asking to be arrested and deported – even though he had committed no crime – and then ended up in custody after allegedly assaulting two officers.

James John Konteh, 24, originally from Gambia, went to the Marsa police station on Saturday night insisting he wanted to be arrested because he had nowhere to sleep and had no money to return home to Sweden.

There was a catch, however: he had done nothing illegal and the police refused to arrest him.

He then warned them he was going to stay there until he committed a crime.

He had nowhere to sleep and had no money to return home to Sweden

The police decided to escort him to the Marsa open centre so he could spend the night there but when they arrived he refused to get out of the police car.

A scuffle ensued during which he allegedly punched a police officer in the ear and slapped another across the face. He also broke the mirror of a police car and damaged one of its doors, police say.

Appearing before Magistrate Giovanni Grixti yesterday, Mr Konteh refused to be assisted by a legal aid lawyer. Outside the courtroom, he was heard saying he wanted “a European lawyer”, even though he did not have the funds to pay for one of his choice.

He then insisted he wanted a Swedish lawyer that his insurance company would send to Malta.

He was charged with assaulting the police, slightly injuring them, disobeying their orders, breaching the peace and damaging the car.

When he was asked by the court whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty, Mr Konteh refused to reply to the question, again insisting he wanted a lawyer. The court, therefore, entered a not guilty plea.

He made a request for bail but this was turned down because he had no fixed address and because of the seriousness of his alleged crime.

Police Inspector Jason Sultana prosecuted.