KUALA LUMPUR: The legal practitioner arrested over corruption related to birth registration is suspected of processing birth certificate applications after receiving payment from applicants.
According to a source, applicants were required to make a payment before the legal practitioner processed documents related to birth certificate applications.
"The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seized seven birth certificates and a baby treatment card during the raids.
"So far, no bank accounts have been frozen, but the bribe money involved is estimated at RM49,000,” the source said.
Last Wednesday (March 13), the media reported that the MACC arrested 16 individuals, including a civil servant, a medical practitioner with the title Datuk Seri, a legal practitioner, as well as several agents and birth registration applicants.
The individuals, aged 20 to 70, were arrested between 11am and 8pm last Tuesday in Ops Outlander and Ops Birth, conducted across the Klang Valley and Johor.
The suspects are believed to have committed the offences between 2013 and 2018, and from 2023 to 2025, by accepting and offering bribes, as well as submitting false birth certification documents.
A total of 12 individuals have been remanded for four to five days until March 16, while four others, including the medical practitioner, were released on MACC bail for health reasons after having their statements recorded.
On Thursday (March 13), MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya reportedly said that in Ops Outlander, the key suspect was a civil servant believed to have assisted with late birth registration applications, covering cases where births were registered more than 60 days after delivery.
"The suspect is believed to be a medical practitioner with the title Datuk Seri who owns several clinics and maternity centres and is responsible for issuing fake birth confirmation documents,” he said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed at a press conference on Thursday that authorities had uncovered a syndicate that submitted forged birth documents to deceive the National Registration Department (NRD) into issuing legitimate birth certificates, which were then sold on the black market.
He said the syndicate’s modus operandi involved individuals posing as birth informants and submitting fake birth documents resembling official verification from registered private healthcare facilities.
These birth certificates were believed to have been sold to parents or guardians of children without identification documents or Malaysian citizenship, he added.
Saifuddin Nasution said the syndicate was believed to have been operating for more than three years and had obtained over 80 birth certificates through this method.
The syndicate is also suspected of having international connections and being involved in trafficking undocumented children from abroad. - Bernama
