Four nabbed over fake letters for interstate travel

 

Police said the syndicate sold the fake approval letters for RM150 each.

JOHOR BAHRU: Four youths believed to be linked to a syndicate selling falsified international trade and industry ministry (Miti) and employer approval letters for interstate travel have been arrested here.

Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the suspects, including two girls, aged 16 to 19, were arrested by the Johor and federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) officers.

He said the syndicate, believed to have been active since March, had sold about 205 falsified documents throughout Peninsular Malaysia, raking in a profit of around RM37,500.

“They advertised their services on social media, including Instagram, Facebook and WeChat, and sold the fake documents for RM150 each.

“The four suspects would receive a commission of between RM50 and RM100 for each document sold,” he said at a media conference here today.

He said the syndicate also incorporated QR codes in the approval letters to confuse police efforts to detect fakes during inspections at roadblocks.

“We, however, could see that the bearer of the letter at the roadblock was not the company’s employee listed in the fake letter. There might be some insider involvement so we will investigate,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He said police were looking for Nicholas Chai Jia Han, 21, to help in the investigations. Chai’s last known address was 49 Jalan Bukit Kontang, Taman Ria, Tangkak.

He urged those with information to contact ASP Timmy Aheng at 019-777-3728 or any police station.

In a separate development, Ayob Khan said three locals aged 27 to 47 were arrested around the city on Aug 18 on suspicion of being involved in loan sharking activities targeting petty traders since 2019.

“Until now, 80 repeat borrowers have been traced, with loans totalling RM1.5 million,” he said, adding that the case would be investigated under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951.

Fake identities for Covid-19 vaccination

Meanwhile, Melaka police said four people, including three foreigners, were arrested for allegedly using other people’s identities to register for Covid-19 vaccination using the MySejahtera application.

Melaka CCID chief E Sundra Rajan said the suspects, aged between 30 and 40, were arrested in two separate raids around Bandar Hilir between 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday.

He said the first arrest involved a 30-year-old foreign woman who was detained when she went to get her second vaccine dose at a clinic in Bandar Hilir at about 2.30pm.

“A check on the MySejahtera application used by the woman found that the identity information registered in the application belonged to another individual.

“Police also confiscated a vaccination card in the suspect’s name, a foreigner i-card believed to be fake, a copy of an expired passport and her mobile phone,” he said in a statement here today.

Following the arrest, two other foreign women and a local man were arrested at a house in Bandar Hilir at about 7pm the same day.

He said all the suspects were remanded to assist in investigations.

Sundra Rajan added that the three foreign women were also being investigated for staying in the country without valid documents and for overstaying.

He also said that so far, Melaka police had received two reports related to identification information of locals used by foreigners to register for Covid-19 vaccination using the MySejahtera application. - FMT