Man jailed 24 weeks after giving ICA forged medical memos to extend foreigners’ stays in Singapore

SINGAPORE — In a scheme to illegally extend the stays of three China nationals in Singapore, Kalvin Hai Chin Ts’uan submitted forged memos from a hospital that falsely claimed that they needed to undergo emergency medical procedures.

As a result, the authorities extended the validity of their special passes, which are meant to allow foreigners to remain here for specific purposes such as assisting in investigations and attending court proceedings.

On Wednesday (April 27), Hai, 43, was jailed for 24 weeks after pleading guilty to three counts of forgery.

Another four similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

IMPERSONATED HOSPITAL EMPLOYEE

The court heard that Hai, a Singaporean, first reached out to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers in June last year.

Court documents showed how Hai, having assumed the identity of a liaison staff member at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital named Alvin Khoo, told the ICA officers about three China nationals who were purportedly scheduled to be repatriated after being involved in vice activities in Singapore.

He alleged that the trio — He Dandan, Ge Chunjuan and Shen Xiaojuan — were unfit for travel and needed to remain in Singapore to undergo emergency medical procedures.

Medical memos pertaining to He's and Ge's conditions, purportedly issued by the hospital, were also provided to ICA.

Later on, one of the officers who worked at ICA’s repatriation branch checked with the hospital’s medical records officer, but was informed that there were no records of the three foreigners.

The officer proceeded to lodge a police report.

The court heard that the authorities managed to identify Hai as the person who was posing as Alvin Khoo, and arrested him.

Investigations revealed that he got to know an unidentified man, known as Xiong Tai, who had advertised his services as an agent for work permits and visas.

Hai asked him about making a visa application for his girlfriend in China, but nothing materialised because the fees were expensive, the court heard.

In late 2020, Xiong Tai contacted Hai to ask if he could forge medical memos to be submitted to ICA, in order to extend He's special pass.

Hai agreed upon learning that he would receive half of the profits earned by doing so.

Xiong Tai gave him a copy of a handwritten memo issued by a doctor, whom He had legitimately consulted for a gynaecological issue.

Hai then forged an official memo stating that she had undergone surgery and was required to observe strict bed rest.

Shortly after, the ICA officer asked for an update on her condition and a latest medical memo because her special pass was expiring soon.

Hai then forged a second memo and sent it to the ICA officers, leading them to extend He's stay for another week. She eventually left Singapore two months later in March last year.

As for Ge, investigations revealed that she was scheduled to be repatriated back to China in May last year as she could not extend her social visit pass any longer.

Hai then forged another medical memo, which led ICA officers to extend her special pass. She left Singapore in June last year.

For each forgery charge, he could have been jailed for up to four years or fined, or punished with both.