KOTA KINABALU: A teenager will spend the next 11 months behind bars for providing false information when applying for a replacement identity card at the National Registration Department (NRD) office here on Sept 20.
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge under Regulation 25(1)(b) of the Registration Regulations 1990 (Amendment 2007) in a Magistrate’s Court here on Thursday (Sept 25).
Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali ordered the accused to serve her sentence from the date of her arrest and to be referred to the Immigration Department upon completing her prison term.
According to the facts of the case, she visited the NRD’s Identity Card Section to apply for a replacement card.
She submitted a birth certificate and a police report regarding a lost identity card.
However, a fingerprint comparison found that her fingerprints did not match the records in the department’s database for the name she provided.
Further checks also showed that the identification number in her application had already been issued to someone else with Malaysian citizenship.
She was subsequently referred to NRD’s Investigation and Enforcement Division for further action.
During questioning, she said she was born on Pulau Gaya, an island off Kota Kinabalu, and confessed that the birth certificate she presented was not hers.
She faced a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment, a fine of up to RM20,000, or both, upon conviction.
The prosecution was handled by Sabah NRD prosecuting officer Mohamad Faizal Tahir, while the accused was unrepresented.
