Two women, teen accused of selling fake jab records

Two suspected female masterminds of a syndicate selling forged Covid-19 vaccination records to job seekers who do not have Hong Kong ID cards will appear in Kowloon City Magistrates' Court today.

A 48-year-old Vietnamese woman has been charged with one count of making a false instrument, possession of a false instrument, forged identity cards and identity cards relating to another person.

The other suspect, a 41-year-old local woman who owns a Kowloon Bay photo-printing shop, has been charged with one count of making a false instrument.

A third suspect - the 14-year-old son of the Vietnamese woman - has been released on bail.

Among the forged documents for sale are nucleic test reports, sick notes claiming the person is not fit to be vaccinated and HKID cards, police said.

They allegedly sold the forged documents for HK$600 each.

Police said they are still investigating what kind of jobs the buyers were looking for, adding some documents have already been sold.

Yau Tsim district crime unit senior inspector Chan Ka-po said police earlier received tip-offs on a forged document syndicate in West Kowloon.

In an operation on Friday, police said they found the Vietnamese woman and her son - a secondary student - handing documents and cash to the female owner of the photo-printing shop in Richland Gardens.

Police said they also seized 11 forged vaccination records, 21 forged nucleic test reports and three forged sick notes. Forty-five sets of forged digital vaccination records in a computer as well as a printer were also collected as evidence.

Later the same day, the Vietnamese woman was taken to her Wan Chai apartment, where 11 forged vaccination records, two forged HKID cards and an HKID card belonging to another person were seized.

Chan said the forgeries bore a strong resemblance to genuine ones. She advised people to use the government's eVT Code Verifier or LeaveHomeSafe apps to check the authenticity of records.

"People, including employers, can use the apps, which will scan the QR codes of the records and show the names, ID card number and vaccination dates of the persons stated," Chan said.

Those convicted of using or possessing forged identity cards face a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and a HK$100,000 fine.

Using a false instrument is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

"Police will take resolute law enforcement action to combat such offenses," police said. "Please do not challenge the law."

erin.chan@singtaonewscorp.com