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NRD: Foreign workers using fake documents to apply for jobs

Immigrants are securing jobs using fake identity cards, exposing employers to the risks that come with paying those who are not the people they claim to be, reported New Straits Times.

According to the National Registration Department (NRD), in 2016, a staggering 273 cases of foreigners being in possession of fake MyKad were filed - of the total, many were Filipinos.

"There are those who were duped into believing that the documents they bought were genuine and gave them bona fide citizenship status. Some have been caught, but many still live and work among us," New Straits Times wrote.

In general, NRD director-general Mohd Yazid Ramli said that the detainees could be categorised into two groups - those who used fake MyKad; and those who were in possession of genuine documents belonging to others.

Yazid added that investigations revealed that these foreign workers entered the country mainly through Sabah, rather than taking flights to the peninsula, using their passports and used fake documents supplied by syndicates to apply for work.

ALSO READ: Malaysia now allows issuing foreign workers’ temporary card to illegals

“It is not within the department’s authority to monitor foreigners’ entry into the peninsula from Sabah and Sarawak,” he told the New Straits Times.

He further revealed that the genuine MyKad these immigrants were in possession of were missing or stolen ones involved in criminal cases.

“The department’s Investigation and Enforcement Division is probing into every arrest to identify the syndicates. Investigations have led us to the agents involved in selling and producing the fake documents. We are monitoring them, and action will be taken once we have gathered strong evidence on their involvement,” Yazid said.

He added that there would be a deeper probe into the case involving the recent arrests of two masterminds who appeared to be related to a major syndicate supplying fake MyKad in Sabah.

In December last year, NRD nabbed 10 people, including the two, in a special operation in Tawau.

While the masterminds were locals, the syndicate's agents included seven Indonesians Indonesians who possessed fake documents and a Filipino. Two agents and five foreigners, believed to have bought fake documents from the two women, were arrested in Sandakan last November, the New Straits Times reported.

To prevent syndicates from producing fake MyKad, Yazid revealed that NRD would upgrade the quality of MyKad from time to time. He also urged employers to be vigilant when recruiting workers, adding that they must employ only those who had genuine MyKad.

Following the series of arrests involving foreign workers using fake documents to secure jobs - particularly in the security sector, Yazid said more operations would be carried out and those found to be using such documents will be arrested under Regulation 25(1)(e) of the National Registration Regulations 1990 (Amendment 2007), which carries a penalty of a maximum of three years’ jail, a maximum fine of RM20,000, or both.

READ MORE: Employment scammer jailed for illegally importing foreign workers to Singapore

Photo / 123RF

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