Real passports, fake IDs: Kuala Lumpur still troubled by scam

Syndicate gets corrupt officers to bypass checks in system; details surface of 2016 scam

The loophole in the system allows fugitives and militants to buy genuine Malaysian passports with fake identities by paying between US$10,000 (S$13,700) and US$60,000 a piece. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Nadirah H. Rodzi Malaysia Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur
Updated
Sep 19, 2019, 11:00 AM
Published
Sep 19, 2019, 05:00 AM
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A touch of the button on a computer keyboard is all it takes for a corrupt immigration officer to issue a genuine Malaysian passport with fake details.

This is one of the troubling discoveries made by investigators of the 2016 passport scam that has recently been revealed to The Straits Times.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 19, 2019, with the headline Real passports, fake IDs: Kuala Lumpur still troubled by scam. Subscribe

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