SINGAPORE – A full-time national serviceman (NSF) with the Singapore Police Force bought forged medical certificates (MCs) from a friend’s wife and submitted them to his officers to avoid doing his duties.

Muhammad Ayyub Mohd Rafie also did this to enable him to work as a Foodpanda delivery driver, the court heard.

On Wednesday, Ayyub, 21, who completed his national service on Oct 6, 2022, was ordered to undergo probation for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of using a forged document as a genuine copy and one count of cheating by personation.

As part of his probation, he has to remain indoors from 11pm to 6am every day and perform 60 hours of community service. His parents were also bonded for $5,000 to ensure his good behaviour.

His friend’s wife, Siti Syahindah Muhammad Iskandar, 27, had earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and was sentenced to 10 days’ jail on Aug 23.

She was offered bail of $15,000 and is expected to surrender herself at the State Courts on Sept 6 to begin serving her sentence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicole Teo told the court in July that Ayyub wanted to apply to be a Foodpanda delivery driver in August 2021 but he needed a National Registration Identity Card (NRIC), which he did not have as he was an NSF.

So he asked his brother to send him photographs of the latter’s NRIC. Court documents did not disclose if the brother was aware of Ayyub’s plan.

Ayyub then opened a Foodpanda delivery account under his brother’s name and using the older man’s particulars, even though he would be the only one controlling the account and delivering for Foodpanda.

Meanwhile, Siti started selling forged MCs on an unnamed platform in 2021, each going for between $10 and $15.

The documents were forged to look like those issued by a doctor from NuHealth Medical Centre in Woodlands. According to court documents, Siti printed the forged MCs at a shop and signed them herself.

She would then send pictures of the documents to customers who transferred cash to her and gave them her address so they could collect the forged MCs.

Ayyub bought one of them from Siti, in or around November 2021, and submitted it to a superior officer.

He bought another forged MC in or around February 2022 and submitted it to another superior officer the following month.

This officer became suspicious as he noticed that the doctor’s signature on the two forged MCs was different.

The truth finally emerged when the officer went to NuHealth Medical Centre to check.