Police Arrest Anti-Vaxxer Doctor Suspected Of Selling 1,900 Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Certs
It is believed the doctor raked in over RM1 million in sales.
A private clinic in Marang, Terengganu is suspected to have raked in over RM1 million in sales of fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates since last year
According to New Straits Times, preliminary police investigations revealed that the clinic has given out a total of 1,900 vaccination certificates since September 2021.
"We are still investigating how many people out of that number did not get injections but received fake vaccination certificates," said Terengganu police chief Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa during a press conference on Monday, 10 January.
The police found that customers needed to fork out between RM400 and RM600 for a fake vaccination certificate, instead of paying the price of RM300 for an actual shot.
It is believed that there are also individuals who came from out of state, including from Kuala Lumpur and Kedah, to buy fake certificates from the clinic
Rohaimi said policemen from their Commercial Crime Investigation Department raided the private clinic on Saturday, 8 January, acting on a public tip-off.
The policemen seized over 100 fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates and arrested a 51-year-old doctor during the 7pm raid.
"Among other items seized included several documents, a laptop, and telephone," said the police chief.
"Most of the customers communicated with the doctor online, so we will try to get information from emails in the laptop that was also confiscated from the clinic," he added.
It is believed the doctor worked alone without the knowledge of other clinic workers and used an agent to promote his services for a commission of RM50.
The doctor has also admitted to being an anti-vaxxer
"Although the doctor admitted to being an anti-vaxxer, he has already received the vaccine shot, probably because of his work," said Rohaimi, as quoted by Bernama.
Terengganu Health Department director Datuk Dr Kasemani Embong added that the private clinic had applied to become a COVID-19 vaccination centre (PPV), but was rejected.
It was later allowed to administer COVID-19 vaccinations for a fee since September last year.
The suspect is currently under remand and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Last month, a COVID-19 patient landed in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after a private clinic faked his RTK test result: