Unemployed man fined RM5,000 for false birth cert, ID card applications for two kids

KUALA LUMPUR: An unemployed man was fined RM5,000 by a Magistrate’s Court here on Wednesday (March 26) for making false statements regarding the birth registration of his two children and submitting false information when applying for an identity card with the National Registration Department (NRD).

Magistrate Amira Abd Aziz imposed the sentence on the 62-year-old after he pleaded guilty to all three charges. He was ordered to serve 17 months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

The man faced two counts of making false statements during the birth registration application for his two children using the NRD birth registration form at the Federal Territory NRD counters in Kuala Lumpur and Kepong at 2.13pm on April 10, 2009, and 3.43pm on Aug 4, 2010.

He was charged under Section 36(a) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1957, which provides for a maximum fine of RM2,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both.

The accused also faced another charge of submitting false information when applying for the first-time identity card of one of his two children, aged 12, using the identity card application form at the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory NRD counter at 8.57am on March 29, 2021.

The charge was brought under Article 25(1)(b) of the National Registration Regulations under the National Registration Act 1959, which carries a maximum fine of RM20,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years or both.

Based on the case facts, the complainant (NRD) arrested the man on suspicion of making a false statement during the birth registration application of his two children.

The investigation revealed that the two children were not the biological children of the accused’s wife, as determined by a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test.

Earlier, NRD prosecuting officer Nurraudhah Adilah Bahadun requested a commensurate sentence against the man.

Lawyer Ku Mohd Fauzul Azim Ku Zaharul’ Aiz, representing the accused, requested a fine on the grounds that his client has health issues and is supporting his family.

“My client is unemployed, has a wife and three children aged 12 to 15 years old, and he also has to care for his 87-year-old mother who is paralysed,” said the lawyer. – Bernama