A Group Has Been Forging COVID-19 Test Results At RM50 Per Slip For Foreign Workers In KL
Kuala Lumpur police chief Mazlan Lazim said that they have received reports about the fake COVID-19 screening documents and have since arrested over half a dozen foreign workers as part of an ongoing investigation.
By Sadho Ram — 13 Jun 2020, 02:48 PM
There's a syndicate involved in producing fake COVID-19 test result slips for foreign workers in Kuala Lumpur, according to over half a dozen arrests made by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) since 6 June
The latest arrests were made at around 11pm Tuesday night, 9 June.
Kuala Lumpur (KL) police chief Mazlan Lazim said that police arrested five foreign workers at Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin near the city centre on the suspicion of being involved in the operation.
They are Bangladeshi nationals attached with a construction company in the capital.
"We also seized several items, including five mobile phones and a copy of a COVID-19 test result with the words 'Lablink Medical Laboratory' stated on it," Mazlan was quoted as saying.
Prior to that, two migrant workers were arrested on 6 June for reportedly operating two street-front shops offering the service to forge COVID-19 screening documents along Jalan Alor in the capital.
The fake COVID-19 test results are being sold at RM50 per slip
According to Mazlan, preliminary investigations on 6 June revealed that the syndicate was operating for one to two weeks, with each COVID-19 screening test result document being sold for RM50.
"The police found that the rental for the site is RM600 per month and [the shops] operate daily from noon to 9pm, where a caretaker will be placed at the counter to operate a laptop while dealing with clients," he said, adding that the target customers are believed to be foreigners.
The first two suspects were working on an estimated salary of RM1,500 and RM1,700 a month.
Among the items seized in the raid last Saturday, there were items such as several laptops, printers, laminators, several pieces of fake COVID-19 screening test results, and RM1,331 in cash.
Since the arrests, police have received more reports about forged slips
The reports about additional document forgery in connection to the ongoing investigation under "Op Pemalsuan Dokumen" were received between 9 and 10 June from health facilities in KL.
Mazlan said that three hospitals and health laboratories around the capital received calls and emails from employers seeking to verify the COVID-19 screening test results being carried by their workers.
However, the health facilities found that the names of the patients stated in the COVID-19 test result reports were not in their records, signifying that the documents were forged.
Additionally, the doctor who supposedly performed these screening for the workers was also not attached to the hospital or laboratory stated in the documents, according to KL police chief.
Police are continuing with their investigations into the case under Section 468 and 471 of the Penal Code, which covers the forging of documents for cheating and knowingly using a forged document
Mazlan said that the case is also being probed under Section 22(D) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, as well as Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act.
"Such irresponsible attitude of prioritising monetary gains like this will only bring harm to the public and it undermines the government's efforts to break the COVID-19 chain of infection," he added.
