KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — A construction company director was fined RM18,000 by the Sessions Court today after pleading guilty to using a forged document to support applications for Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) three years ago.
Judge Azura Alwi meted out the fine on Najiha Salim, 32, and ordered her to serve eight months' imprisonment in default of payment.
According to the charge, she used a forged document, namely a 'Letter of Award for a Mixed Development Project' involving two parcels of land at Jalan Dagang and Jalan Ampuan, Batu Pahat, Johor, purportedly issued by a property development company and dated May 3, 2023.
Najiha was accused of instructing a woman to submit the document to the Immigration Department in support of PLKS applications at the Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department's Taskforce Unit in October 2023.
The charge was framed under Section 471 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 465 of the same Code, which carries a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Based on the facts of the case, the accused, who is the director of a company providing cleaning, construction, and manpower placement services, had appointed a woman to represent the company in matters relating to the Labour Recalibration Programme (RTK) 2.0.
The applications involved the registration of 47 undocumented migrants under the programme to obtain PLKS. Investigations later revealed that one of the supporting documents submitted was forged.
The representative was subsequently arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on June 17 last year.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Irna Julieza Maaras of the MACC urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence as a deterrent.
"This is a serious offence as it involves the use of a forged document in a matter relating to national security. It cannot be taken lightly, and an appropriate sentence should be imposed," she said.
Defence counsel Shahidah Muslimah Roslan appealed for a minimal fine, citing her client's kidney disease and her responsibility to support her two young children as well as her parents in Sabah.
She added that Najiha's guilty plea reflected her remorse and acceptance of responsibility, and that she had undertaken not to commit any similar offence in the future.
