A civil servant has been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes ranging from RM10,000 to RM15,000 (USD $2,300 to USD $3,400) for issuing fraudulent birth certificates in a scheme aimed at securing Malaysian citizenship. The arrest occurred during Operation Outlander, a crackdown by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) targeting a syndicate that processed late birth registrations, reports FMT.
The suspect is believed to have helped process applications where births were registered more than 60 days after delivery. As part of the investigation, MACC froze 11 bank accounts totaling RM100,000 (USD $23,000) and seized 30 documents related to the case.
The operation also led to the arrest of a doctor managing birth registration documents. Previous arrests on March 11 included 16 people, including a medical practitioner with a "Datuk Seri" title. The suspects, aged 20 to 70, were detained in raids on clinics and law firms across the Klang Valley and Johor.
The investigation, fueled by over a year of intelligence gathering between MACC and the national registration department, revealed that the syndicate operated between 2013-2018 and 2023-2025, providing fake birth certificates to parents or guardians of children without Malaysian citizenship. The syndicate is also suspected of international involvement in trafficking undocumented children.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
