SHAH ALAM, June 19 — Police have crippled a syndicate selling fake Covid-19 screening test results following the arrest of five individuals including a woman in three separate raids, last Wednesday.
Shah Alam district police chief ACP Baharudin Mat Taib said the first raid was conducted on a house at Taman Sri Muda in Section 25 here at 6.30pm which a 58-year-old man was arrested.
“Acted as an agent, the suspect who is also a taxi driver who was tasked with looking for ‘customers’ especially among foreigners or employers hiring foreign workers.
“Subsequent interrogation led to the arrest of three others, namely two Indian nationals and a man who is a permanent resident and believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate at a house in Klang two hours later,” he told a press conference here today.
Baharudin said investigations conducted on the four suspects had led to another raid on a business premises in Pandamaran, Klang where an Indian female national was picked up.
He said the female suspect was believed to have been hired by the mastermind to issue fake Covid-19 screening test results from a private hospital.
Baharudin said the syndicate was believed to have been active since the implementation of the movement control order (MCO).
Preliminary investigations found that the Covid-19 screening test result documents were sold to “customers” particularly foreigners at RM120 each to make it easier for them secure a job, he said.
Baharudin added that the syndicate was hiding behind a registered company owned by the mastermind, which had been set up to supply foreign workers.
“Police are still investigating the total number of foreigners that have purchased the fake documents and were also tracking the remaining members of the syndicate.
“We are also investigating whether it is related to the arrests of several individuals on suspicion of falsifying Covid-19 screening test results in other locations in the country recently,” he added.
Baharudin said besides falsifying Covid-19 screening test results, investigations also found that the syndicate was involved in producing and selling fake travel documents such as passport and visa.
He said this was following the seizure of several items during the raids which included about 80 passports of various countries, laptops, printers, mobile phones.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 and Section 468/471 of the Penal Code, Section 55(D) and Section 6(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, Section 12(1)(f) of the Passports Act 1966 and Section 22(d) of the the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988. — Bernama
