SANDAKAN – A 70-year-old man has been sentenced to three months in prison and fined RM5,000 for submitting false information to the National Registration Department while applying for a MyKad on behalf of a non-citizen.
Sandakan magistrate Nur Faezah Jafry imposed the sentence on Bakri Sakka, who pleaded guilty to committing the act in a meeting room at Wisma Persekutuan Sandakan on September 20, 2022.
Bakri, represented by lawyer Mohd Nazri Zikiri, pleaded guilty to violating Section 25(1)(b) of the Registration Regulations 1990. This section carries a penalty of up to three years in jail, a fine not exceeding RM20,000, or both.
Appealing for leniency based on Bakri’s age, defence counsel Nazri sought a lighter sentence in the form of a fine.
Prosecuting officer Mohd Naser Mohd Nadzeri from the Sabah National Registration Department emphasised the gravity of the offence, stating that submitting a MyKad application for an individual suspected to be an undocumented migrant using a citizen’s birth certificate was a serious offence.
He stressed that such acts threatened the sovereignty of the country, as successful impersonation could grant the imposter full citizenship benefits.
“The accused’s action of submitting a MyKad application for the individual, believed to be an illegal immigrant, by using the birth certificate of a citizen until a MyKad was almost produced for the individual is an offence that must be viewed seriously.
“If the impersonator succeeds in obtaining the identity card, the impersonator will get all the facilities and advantages as a citizen,” he said.
In a separate case at another court in Sandakan, Hasanuddin Sande, a non-citizen holding an IMM13 document, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined RM7,500, or six months in prison in default, for a similar offence.
Magistrate Mohammad Azeem Mohd Ridzo delivered the sentence and ordered Hasanuddin to be referred to the Immigration Department after serving his prison term.
Hasanuddin, who was unrepresented by legal counsel, pleaded guilty to providing false information to the National Registration Department to obtain an identity card using a birth register that did not belong to him at Wisma Persekutuan Sandakan at 4.29pm on September 20, 2022. – March 8, 2024