A Myanmar national was sentenced to 13 years and seven months in jail for possessing forged passports and UNHCR cards, highlighting a crackdown on document forgery syndicates.
MELAKA: A Myanmar national was sentenced to 13 years and seven months in jail today for running a document forgery syndicate.
Magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman handed down the sentence to 53-year-old San Lwin after he pleaded guilty to 17 charges.
The charges included possessing forged passports and fake United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
All offences were committed at an apartment in Taman Malim Jaya here on Nov 8, 2025.
San Lwin, described as a syndicate agent, faced eight counts under the Penal Code for possessing forged documents with intent to use them fraudulently.
He also faced eight charges under the Passports Act 1966 for possessing forged or unlawfully held passports and travel documents.
A final charge was for dishonestly using a forged UNHCR card as genuine.
The magistrate ordered the sentence to run concurrently from the date of his arrest.
During the same proceedings, a Myanmar married couple who were San Lwin’s clients were also sentenced.
Zaw Naing, 31, and Khin Saw Wai, 26, received six and eight months’ imprisonment respectively for possessing a fake passport and travel document.
Another Myanmar man, Muhammad Nur Hairul Boshar, 18, was fined RM5,000 for using a fake UNHCR card.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Syaza Nur Sharif urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence.
She cited the threat to national sovereignty posed by the growing activities of immigrant syndicates.
San Lwin, Zaw Naing, and Khin Saw Wai were unrepresented in court.
Counsel Shahrul Affandi appeared for Muhammad Nur Hairul.
