Kota Kinabalu: Three enforcement officers of a department here are ordered to be remanded for six days from today (Friday) to assist in investigations into a passport renewal forgery syndicate or “flying passports”.
The remand order was issued by Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali at the Magistrate's Court here, Thursday, following an application from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Two of the three suspects were represented by their respective counsels, while the other was not represented.
MACC Prosecuting Officer Norsham Saharom appeared for the prosecution.
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The three enforcement officers, in their 40s and 50s, were arrested on Wednesday after giving their statements at the Sabah MACC office here.
According to sources, a month-long surveillance uncovered the syndicate suspected of offering bribes totalling about RM300,000 to the involved officers.
The syndicate is believed to have been active since last year.
“All suspects detained are believed to have engaged in these activities from 2023 until now, receiving bribes of around RM3,000 per passport applicant.
“Initial investigations revealed about 100 applicants involved, with the modus operandi involving forging recipient signatures and manipulating the applicant's fingerprint stamp system, despite regulations requiring applicants to be physically present at the agency to collect passports,” the source said.
The enforcement officers involved allegedly handed passports to middlemen without the presence of applicants still abroad, the source added.
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