KUALA LUMPUR – Individuals from a private health clinic in Gombak have been arrested for issuing more than 5,000 Covid-19 vaccination certificates without first injecting patients with the vaccine.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed said that the clinic, which was authorised by the Health Ministry to administer vaccination shots, had originally charged RM3,000 per certificate before reducing the price to RM500.
“The price decrease might be due to competition from other groups which we have yet to detect, but we are working towards uncovering them,” he said, adding that the clinic has been engaging in such practices for several months now.
Commenting on the operations of the clinic, Arjunaidi said that it had marketed its services to anti-vaccine groups who were willing to pay for authentic Covid-19 vaccination certificates.
“They (the clinic) were not producing fake vaccination certificates; instead, they were issuing valid certificates through invalid means,” he clarified, explaining that the clinic would throw away the contents of Covid-19 vaccine vials before presenting the broken seal on the vials to the Health Ministry as proof of having administered the dose.
Among the individuals arrested as part of the syndicate include a health practitioner and six workers at the clinic – all of whom are being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code and the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act (Act 22A).
Meanwhile, police had on January 8 arrested a doctor selling fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates in Marang, Terengganu.
The arrest, which was part of a raid led by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, led to the uncovering of a syndicate which had already sold around 1,900 such documents.
On January 12, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had stated that the Royal Malaysia Police will be intensifying operations to track down parties involved in selling fake Covid-19 certificates throughout the country. – The Vibes, January 17, 2022
