MORE ABUSE OF CONSULAR ACCESS: Ex-UiTM lecturer faces jail, family may be DEPORTED

KUALA LUMPUR - He was a lecturer who took no-pay leave from his job at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to accompany his lecturer-wife to complete her doctoral studies at Monash University in Melbourne on government scholarship.

Their four children are schooled in Melbourne and he worked for a short while as a contractual driver at the Malaysian Consulate. Thereafter, he ran a successful car hire company driving Malaysian VIPs, including ministers, on their sojourns Down Under.

Last Wednesday, his whole world came crashing down – he faces jail and deportation to Malaysia upon release. His family is also expected to be sent home.

Mohamed Mokhtar Mohamad Ghani was served with a summons for forging documents for immigration purposes under the Victorian Crimes Act 1958. He is scheduled to appear before a magistrate on Feb 27 next year.

He is accused of using the letterhead of the consulate without permission and gave himself an appointment as the "assistant officer to Consul General of Melbourne" to enable his wife to extend her stay in the country.

Using the same letter, his wife, Raja Mazhatul Yasmin Suraya, applied for an extension of her leave from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas). Last year, she opened a restaurant in the Melbourne's Central Business District called "Little Ipoh".

The letter was written in late 2011 but only came to light two years later when Unimas officials contacted the Consulate General's Office in Melbourne to verify the contents of the letter.

Unimas sought to confirm Mohamed Mokhtar's tenure of employment to process the unpaid leave requested by his wife.

On Sept 15, theSun reported that Melbourne police had recorded statements from the Consul General and other consulate officials and taken possession of several documents related to the alleged forgery.

It can now be confirmed that documents in the possession of the police show that Mohamed Mokhtar unlawfully copied several classified documents on a USB memory stick which included letterheads and personal information on consulate staff.

In addition, he had drafted a letter using the Official Letter Head of the Consulate General and forged the Consul General's signature to misrepresent Unimas, which is the subject matter of the charge.

Mohamed Mokhtar's arraignment comes in the wake of another Malaysian – Second Warrant Officer Muhammad Rizalman Ismail – who was extradited to New Zealand on Friday to face charges of burglary and attempted rape in Wellington. -Sundaily