Don't risk having criminal record just because of lost IC - Lawyer

Lawyer Zulkifli Awang said having a criminal record would affect any individual even though they were sentenced to only a fine by the court.

"Many individuals, who lost their ICs, make up stories, lodge false police reports claiming to be the victims of robbery and snatch theft, simply because they do not want to pay the fines and when the police found their statements to be inconsistent and suspicious, they will be charged in court for making fake reports," he told Bernama here, Monday.

Zulkifli said the criminal record would cause a long-term impact not only on themselves but also on their families, making it difficult for them to apply for a loan or to be a guarantor for their children for a study loan.

He said the lender would usually check the applicant's criminal record to ensure that the individual was trustworthy before approving their application.

"It is even more unfortunate for the individual to have difficulty getting jobs in the government sector as well as security forces, for example," he said.

Any person found to have lodged a fake police report could be charged under Section 182 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term not exceeding six months or a maximum fine of RM2,000 or both, Zulkifli said.

Last month, a couple were fined RM1,500 and RM2,000 respectively by the Ampang Magistrate's Court, here for making fake police reports.

They claimed that their ICs were robbed but police investigations found that the robbery did not happened and the couple lost their ICs due to their own negligence.

Another lawyer, Ahmad Ridza Mohd Noh said the jail term and fine for the offence were appropriate, taking into account the frequency of such a case in the country.

The fine for first-time loss of IC is RM100, RM300 for the second time and RM1,000 for the third time and subsequently.

Exemption is given to the disabled, the poor, senior citizens aged 60 years and above, victims of natural disasters, crimes such as theft and burglary and adolescents aged 18 and below.

The NRD recorded 1,356,135 cases of lost identity cards due to negligence from 2010 until September 2015.