Op Birth: Two women held over fake birth registration probe
SHAH ALAM: Two women have been remanded for five days starting today to facilitate a probe into the alleged submission of falsified birth registration forms.
Magistrate Mohamed Redza Azhar Rezali granted a remand order until April 26 for the two individuals, aged 43 and 49, following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
According to a source, the suspects, a clinic assistant and a self-employed individual, were arrested at the MACC Selangor office yesterday afternoon.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 49-year-old agent was responsible for managing and preparing supporting documents for infant birth verifications from hospitals across Selangor.
'The clinic assistant is alleged to have impersonated a civil servant to facilitate the process and received a bribe of approximately RM10,000 from an applicant,' said the source.
Meanwhile, Selangor MACC Director Hairuzam Mohmad Amin@Hamim confirmed the matter when contacted, and said the case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
Last week, the media reported that 14 individuals, including three women, were remanded for five days to assist in investigations related to the submission of falsified birth registration forms. The births were not recorded by the hospitals named in the forms.
In March, the media also reported that MACC had arrested 16 individuals, comprising a civil servant, a medical practitioner with the title 'Datuk Seri', a legal practitioner, as well as several agents and applicants involved in the syndicate.
All suspects, aged between 20 and 70, were detained during the Op Outlander and Op Birth operations conducted in the Klang Valley and Johor.
They are suspected of soliciting and receiving bribes, in addition to preparing and submitting falsified birth verification documents from 2013 to 2018 and from 2023 to 2025.
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