KUALA LUMPUR: Individuals who lodge false police reports on lost identity cards (IC) to avoid paying a fine by the National Registration Department (NRD) will bear a life-long criminal record if they are charged in court and found guilty of the offence.
Lawyer Zulkifli Awang today warned that having a criminal record would affect any individual even though they were only sentenced to a fine by the court.
“Many individuals, who lose their ICs, make up stories, lodge false police reports claiming to be the victims of robbery or snatch theft, simply because they do not want to pay the fines.
“When the police find their statements are inconsistent and suspicious, they will charge them in court for making false reports,” he told Bernama here today.
Zulkifli said the criminal record would have a long-term impact not only on the individuals concerned but also their families.
It would make it difficult for them to apply for a loan or to be a guarantor for their children for a study loan.
He said the lender would usually check the applicant’s criminal record to ensure the individual was trustworthy before approving their application.
“It is even more unfortunate for the individual as he or she will have difficulty getting jobs in the government sector as well as security forces,” he said.
Any person found to have lodged a fake police report can be charged under Section 182 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term not exceeding six months or a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both, Zulkifli said.
Last month, two people were fined RM1,500 and RM2,000 each by the Ampang Magistrate’s Court here for making false police reports about their ICs.
They claimed they had been robbed of their ICs but police investigations found that the robbery did not take place and the couple had lost their ICs due to their own negligence.
Another lawyer, Ahmad Ridza Mohd Noh, said the jail term and fine for the offence were appropriate, taking into account the frequency of such cases in the country.
The fine for the first-time loss of an IC is RM100. If one loses it a second time, the fine is RM300 and RM1,000 for the third and subsequent occasions.
Exemptions are given to the disabled, the poor, senior citizens aged 60 years and above, victims of natural disasters, crimes such as theft and burglary, and adolescents aged 18 and below.
The NRD recorded 1,356,135 cases of lost identity cards due to negligence from 2010 until September 2015.