Agents get a good cut

JOHOR BARU: A fake Covid-19 digital vaccination certificate syndicate has been using agents to seek out anti-vaxxers by promising them a lucrative commission for each buyer.

The syndicate was allegedly operating from a private clinic here for about a month and issued more than 30 fake digital certificates to people who had to pay as much as RM650 each.

It is learnt that the rate depended on how many certificates were issued, including for the first and second doses, and also booster jabs.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said eight people were detained.

Three of them were clinic employees. The rest were customers who had purchased the fake digital vaccination certificates.

All eight suspects, aged 24 to 42, have been remanded for investigations.

“All those who purchased these certificates are anti-vaxxers,” he said, adding that the agents were paid a commission of RM125 for each customer.

Modus operandi: Comm Kamarul Zaman explaining how the syndicate managed to issue fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates in Johor Baru.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said police seized items, including a laptop used to register people in the MySejahtera app and several mobile phones containing the digital certificates.

“We believe this syndicate has given out such certificates to at least 30 people, both here and from other places,” he added.

Asked if any doctor or medical personnel were involved, he said investigations were ongoing and police did not rule out the possibility of more arrests.

Comm Kamarul Zaman urged those who had purchased the fake digital certificates to come forward and assist in the investigations by contacting Insp Ahmad Sufian Abdullah at 012-562 6734.

In a separate case, police together with the Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) arrested two men aged 33 and 44 for allegedly carrying out illegal hunting activities in a forest area along Jalan Kota Tinggi and Mersing on Tuesday.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said police seized a shotgun and eight bullets from the suspects, which included a foreigner.

Both are being investigated under Section 8 of the Firearms Act.