KOTA KINABALU (June 8): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has busted a syndicate falsifying birth certificates in the country with the arrest of 12 suspects.
MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki said two of the suspects had been released while the other 10 were still remanded.
The syndicate comprises four doctors, one government official and members of the public.
Azam said they had uncovered the syndicate following a proactive investigation in cooperation with the National Registration Department (NRD).
He said the syndicate was involved in bribing NRD officers to resolve issues such as a child’s identity not matching its parents’.
He explained that bribes were given to the officers to falsify birth certificates to register adopted children as biological children.
So far, he said this syndicate has been found in several states, especially Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley, while Sabah has no recorded cases.
“We will investigate this matter at the grassroots level and will bring any wrongdoers to light as this is a case that smears our sovereignty,” he said when closing an Institute of Higher Learning (IPTA) anti-corruption debate competition at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) here on Thursday.
It was recently reported that the MACC had detained 12 suspects aged 42 to 81 at several areas in Klang Valley who were allegedly involved in forging birth certificates to register adopted children as biological.
Reports said that each applicant would bribe certain doctors to sign the form confirming births at the clinics even though the child was not actually born at the facility, and with the confirmation, the applications or middlemen can manage the child’s registration.
It was further reported that if the registration application is rejected or blacklisted, the application or middlemen would bribe government agency officials around RM2,000 to RM6,000 each to settle the matter.
Also present at the debate competition closing ceremony was UMS Vice Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kasim Mansor.