Man, 43, detained for selling 'immunity cards' to illegals in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Illegal immigrants and undocumented people in Sabah's east coast district, especially Tawau, were revealed to have been duped into buying "immunity cards" following the arrest of a suspect recently.

The suspect, a 43-year-old local man, was believed to have been selling these cards to undocumented people. 

He claimed that those with "immunity cards" would not be arrested by the authorities for not possessing any identification documents.

Tawau police chief Asst Comm Fadil Marsus (pic) said the suspect would sell these cards at RM50 each, including processing fee.

"The cards are called Union Malaya Borneo Corporation (UMBCO), and buyers were told that these cards function as identification cards and passports," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb 27).

ACP Fadil said following a tip-off, the suspect was nabbed in a raid at about 11pm on Tuesday (Feb 25) at a house in Kg. Sentosa Jalan Utara.

Initial investigations showed the suspect had been selling these cards for about a month with five people having received theirs so far, he said.

"All the applicants had to do was provide their names and inform the suspect as to what type of identification card they needed.

"The UMBCO card would be ready for collection within three days," he said, adding that the suspect would just process the cards at any stationery shop in Tawau.

ACP Fadil said the suspect worked alone and did not have any company registered under the law.

"The suspect also confessed to not having any authority or approval from any government bodies, including the Home Ministry, police, National Registration Department or Immigration Department, to carry out his 'work'," he said.

Following the raid, police seized a telephone, three files containing UMBCO cards with photos, 16 empty files and five unprocessed UMBCO forms with photos of the applicants.

They also confiscated RM606, three stamps engraved with the words "MAHA GURU'(PGSSBBP)", "AYAHANDA MAHAGURU LEE TUNGGAL", and "SAZALI ARHAM BIN MOHD HAMDI GELANGGANG SILAT BAGINDA".

ACP Fadil said the suspect had been remanded and would be investigated for attempted cheating.

Those who received UMBCO cards and those who applied for them would be called in to assist investigations, he added.