KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has arrested 71 people in 17 enforcement operations since 2024 in a crackdown on syndicates accused of falsifying passports to help foreign workers undergo mandatory medical examinations using other people's identities.
It released the figures after a Facebook post showing what appeared to be an altered Pakistani passport circulated again.
The post raised concerns about how foreign nationals could possess such documents and whether forged passports had been used to enter Malaysia.
The Facebook user claimed that foreign nationals had gone to a clinic with fake passports but left after a nurse questioned the documents' authenticity.
"How could they have entered the country using fake documents?" the user asked.
The post included images of what appeared to be altered passport photographs and had attracted about 2,500 reactions, 305 comments and 1,000 shares when viewed.
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the department said the same allegations had circulated widely in April this year.
It said intelligence gathering and enforcement operations since 2024 had uncovered syndicates involved in falsifying passports and altering personal information to help foreign workers undergo medical examinations using other people's identities.
"Since 2024, the department has carried out 17 enforcement operations and arrested 71 individuals in connection with document and travel document forgery activities," it said.
The department said the discovery of falsified passports in such cases did not necessarily mean the documents had been used to enter Malaysia.
The syndicates' modus operandi involved replacing passport photographs and altering personal details to help foreign workers undergo medical examinations using another person's identity, the department said.
The activities were linked to the renewal of Temporary Employment Visit Passes, particularly among foreign workers concerned about failing mandatory health screenings.
"By using another individual's identity, the workers could obtain medical examination results that met the requirements for renewing their employment passes," it said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd