Immigration Dept imposter held

> Suspect posed as ‘senior deputy assistant director’ to run work permit scam

PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department detained a 45-year-old Malaysian yesterday for impersonating a senior official from the department.

Its director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the man, known as “James Tay”, was arrested by a team of officers from the department’s Intelligence, Special Operations and Analysis Division at 12.15pm in Bandar Sunway.

“When detained, the suspect was wearing an Immigration Department uniform with the rank of senior deputy assistant director.

“The officers recovered a bag containing five Immigration authority cards, five Immigration staff cards and nine special passes that are believed to be fake.”

Mustafar said investigations revealed the suspect had been posing as an Immigration officer for the past five to six years.

“The suspect later led the officers to his residence in Puchong Jaya, where they found nine Immigration Department uniforms and accessories, an Indonesian passport, a Passport Travel Certificate, foreign worker application forms, seven Immigration Department authority cards and 13 passes.”

Mustafar said the man had been engaged in the impersonation ruse full-time, to deceive unsuspecting individuals into paying him to procure work permits.

Using a false name, he also advertised his services on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, charging between RM3,000 and RM4,000 per application depending on the nationality of the applicant.

“The victims will only realise their temporary passes are fake when they get arrested by the Immigration Department.

“Most of the victims comprised foreigners and employers who either want to get their temporary working passes easily or those who have problems such as expired passes and those who had abandoned previous employers,” he said.