PETALING JAYA: A Sri Lankan man’s attempt to obtain a Malaysian passport was unsuccessful after his attempt was immediately caught by immigration officers on duty.
In a statement, Penang Immigration Department director Nur Zulfa Ibrahim said the suspect arrived at the UTC Komtar Immigration Office to apply for a Malaysian passport and presented identification documents claiming to be a 10-year-old while being accompanied by a Malaysian woman who claimed to be his mother.
According to Zulfa, the supervising officer realised that the subject’s physical appearance did not match that of a 10-year-old kid and discovered that he did not comprehend any of the questions that were queried towards him.
An initial investigation was subsequently conducted by the head of the office on the man and his “mother”.
“The suspect was unable to speak Bahasa Melayu and when questioned by an Indian officer, it was discovered he could not speak Tami either, which is a language spoken by the majority of Indians in Malaysia,” she said.
Zulfa added that the initial investigations finally led to a confession from the woman who admitted that she was not the man’s mother and that she had received a sum of money as a reward for the transaction.
Meanwhile, the suspect also admitted to being a Sri Lankan citizen.
“As a result, the woman and the man were arrested under the Passport Act 1966 for further investigation and action by the department.”
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