KUALA LUMPUR: A Sri Lankan syndicate’s attempt to fraudulently obtain a Malaysian passport using a child’s identity was thwarted by the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department.
The incident occurred at the UTC Pudu Immigration Office this morning when a Sri Lankan man arrived with a local woman claiming to be his mother.
They were applying for a first-time child passport under the 10-year-old category.
Kuala Lumpur Immigration director Wan Mohammed Saupee Wan Yusoff said suspicion arose when officers noticed the man’s physical appearance appeared much older than the age on the submitted birth certificate.
“He was also unable to follow simple instructions in basic Malay, including when asked to undergo biometric verification,“ he said in a statement today.
Further investigations revealed the local woman was acting under the syndicate’s instructions.
The syndicate offered a ‘shortcut’ for Sri Lankans to obtain Malaysian passports.
Their modus operandi involved using the birth certificate of the local woman’s biological child.
This enabled the Sri Lankan national to apply for a Malaysian passport by posing as her son.
Both individuals were detained for further investigation under the Passport Act 1966.
Several documents and mobile phones believed to have been used by the syndicate were also seized.
Investigations are underway to trace the syndicate network involved in attempts to unlawfully obtain international travel documents.
“Impersonating a Malaysian citizen to obtain a passport is a systematic fraud that threatens national security,“ Wan Mohammed Saupee added.
“Citizens whose documents are misused face the risk of identity theft, legal complications, and false criminal records.” – Bernama
