Filipino in Malta in big trouble for altering passport

SAN FRANCISCO–An unfortunate Filipino seafarer earned a suspended sentence from a court in Malta and faces legal costs after he admitted to changing details on his passport to carry on working past retirement age.

Greater anti-terrorist security measures brought 59-year-old Fausto Gamboa to the attentions o Malta authorities.

He was arrested November 24 during a routine crew-change in Malta’s port of Valletta, after immigration officers found that his passport had been altered, according a report by MaltaToday.

Gamboa had tried to change his date of birth from 1956 to 1974 in order to circumvent age-related work restrictions in the maritime industry.

Gamboa pleaded guilty to the charges and was handed a six-month sentence, suspended for two years by the magistrate.

Normally, passports of crew on board EU-flagged vessels are not subject to inspection. But this is no longer operational, because the free movement of persons within the member states of the EU under the Schengen agreement has been suspended, as an anti-terrorist measure after the Paris attacks.

According to MaltaToday, when the court asked Gamboa if he could afford a lawyer, he replied that he had approximately €2,000. Unfortunately, this meant that he was not eligible for legal aid and would have to pay for his lawyer’s fees out of his own pocket.

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