POLICE in George Town today said the syndicate selling Malaysian identification papers to foreign nationals may still be operating in other states, despite recent success to cripple its operations in Penang.

Penang police chief T. Narenasagaran said investigations found that the ring has been operating for some time and at “several levels within the National Registration Department (NRD)”, Malay Mailv quoted him as saying in Penang today.

Investigations are ongoing, even after the arrest of 20 people, including a senior NRD officer in Penang, for selling MyKad and birth certificates to foreigners.

The NRD officer, Mohd Faizul Ariffin, an assistant director in Penang, was charged on September 12.

The syndicate charged foreigners seeking citizenship between RM100,000 and RM600,000 for the documents.

The NRD has since taken measures to curb fraud, including stopping the late registration of births at its state offices.

Parents of newborns will have to travel to the headquarters in Putrajaya if they wish to register their child after the deadline, which is 60 days after birth. – September 24, 2019.