They are among us.
They could be anywhere. Sitting next to us in restaurants, walking the aisle of grocery stores, or even as we jog in the park.
These are the same people who will proudly flash their fake vaccination certificates whenever asked, without batting an eyelid.
They comprise those who paid for not being injected and those jabbed with distilled water.
Some of the holders of these certificates include civil servants who want to enjoy the RM700 bonus payment offered by the government for those inoculated.
Worse, the perpetrators include doctors from private clinics – physicians trusted to bring down the number of deaths and cases related to the coronavirus.
It is difficult to fathom how these professionals thought they would be able to get away with a crime of this magnitude.
In recent weeks, cases of the sale of fake vaccine certificates have cropped up all over the country – Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Selangor, Johor and Sabah.
One is panic-stricken thinking how far this web of deceit has spread and how many fake vaccine recipients are out there right now.
As a result, there are doubts about the Health Ministry’s data that 97.9 per cent of the adult population in the country are vaccinated.
Will the powers that be make public how many from this 97.9 per cent are genuine Covid-19 vaccine recipients, and how will this fiasco affect our national immunisation programme?
There must be stern action against those who issued these fake certificates. The authorities must also come down hard on the recipients of these certificates.
As for the doctors involved, do not just charge them in court and suspend their practising license, bar them from practice for life and revoke their business license, too.
The issue of fake vaccine certificates is happening all over the world. There are cases in the US, UK, India and Switzerland, to name a few.
Perpetrators manipulate the system as vaccination is labour intensive. Starting from the registration, vaccination and finally updating of status.
Recently in Maharashtra, India, the authorities suspected something amiss after a sudden rise of vaccination in the Malegaon town in Nashik.
Investigations revealed a racket involving civic officials and health officers from the Dhule Municipal Corporation, who provided vaccination certificates without administering jabs.
Further investigation revealed that over 3,000 vaccine-hesitant people in Malegaon paid 3,000 Rupees (RM170) to be recipients of these fake certificates.
So what happens next?
What should you do if someone against vaccination suddenly produces a certificate claiming to be vaccinated?
Could this be a telling sign that something is amiss?
It is probably wise to carry out due diligence, including informing and checking the matter with the authorities.
