MELAKA: A 47-year-old Indonesian has been sentenced to three months' jail after pleading guilty to using another individual’s MyKad for more than a decade, a ruse that allowed him to operate pimped-up trishaws at popular tourist hotspots in the historic city since 2023.
Abdul Adi was produced at the Magistrate’s Court in Ayer Keroh here on Monday (Jan 12) for unlawfully using a copy of another person’s MyKad for the past 12 years.
Investigations revealed that the MyKad had been used to obtain a trishaw operating licence from the Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) in 2023, as well as an identification card issued by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
Magistrate Nur Afiqah Radhiah Zainurin meted out the sentence after the accused’s guilty plea was recorded.
According to the charge, the accused was found to have used the MyKad without lawful authority or reasonable cause.
Checks conducted through the National Registration Department’s biometric verification system (JPN.KP10) showed that the fingerprints and facial image linked to the MyKad did not match the accused and didn't belong to him.
The offence was detected at the Enforcement Division of the Melaka Religious Affairs Department at about noon on Jan 8.
He was charged under Regulation 25(1)(e) of the National Registration Act 1959 and the National Registration Regulations 1990, which carry a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to RM20,000, or both, upon conviction.
In mitigation, the accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, appealed for a lighter sentence, citing his responsibility to support his wife and three school-going children.
However, Melaka's National Registration Department's prosecuting officer Mohd Nasrom Mohd Yusof asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence, stressing that the misuse of identity documents could pose risks to national security and undermine the public interest.
The court ordered the accused to serve the three-month jail term from the date of his arrest.
