Sorry Encik But You're Blacklisted, In Debt And Dead!
In the NST today. There is a "dead" man walking the streets. And he is very frustrated. The Sultanah Aminah Hospital and the National Registration Department have declared him dead. And the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) had given his savings to his "widow".
On top of that, creditors are knocking at his door, never mind that he has been certified dead. It is no wonder that bachelor Mohamed Syarizal Wahab is frustrated and angry. Someone had stolen his identity.
The first hint of trouble our 'late' Syarizal got was when he found himself blacklisted by the Road Transport Department for two traffic offences in 2004. On enquiring he was shocked to find that someone had used his name to buy another car with which the crook had committed these traffic offences. He then lodged a police report. After a brief lull, things started going awry and he was summoned to court by a finance company for not servicing his car loan.
On checking at the National Registration Department, he was informed that he had already died! Tracing his "death", he went to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where he was told that he had not only "died" there on Jan 30 this year, he owed the hospital RM28.
Then, came another shock. When he checked with the EPF, he was told that a woman with an address in Felda Adela, Kota Tinggi, had been paid his savings of RM12,000. She had claimed to be his beneficiary. The woman, he was told, had provided the EPF with a complete set of documents — from the death certificates issued by the hospital and the NRD, a marriage certificate, and birth certificates of two children bearing his name as the father. "I nearly fainted when the officer informed me about this for I could not believe this was happening to me. I am not even married," he said.
But, there was more, as Syarizal found out. A finance company is getting a bankruptcy order against him for not servicing his car loan. "The finance company said it had repossessed the car and put it up for auction. I did not buy a car from the finance company and now I have to pay about RM30,000 or face bankruptcy!"
Syarizal has filed seven police reports but, he laments, investigations into his case were going at a snail’s pace. "Last month, an officer from the EPF came to meet me. He said they would clear things up and return the money, but until today, I have not received any feedback."
Meanwhile, Johor Baru (South) district police chief Assistant Commissioner Roslan Ahmad said police were investigating. Johor NRD director Ramli Awang Kassim said they were investigating the authenticity of the confirmation of death letter issued by a doctor at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru. "According to regulations, the death certificate is only issued if this letter and the NRIC are given to our department," he said.
**** A young, healthy and very much alive man who is in the prime of his life has been summoned for traffic offences he did not commit, blacklisted by the Road Transport Department, brought to court by a finance company for defaulting on a loan he never took for a car he never bought or owned, declared dead at a hospital where he still 'owed' RM28 and had his EPF savings stolen by a woman claiming to be his wife who produced two birth certificates naming him as the father when he was never even married!! It sounds like a script for some popular sitcom on TV.
And what have the concerned authorities been doing? The cops are still investigating, the EPF guys are still looking into the matter while the NRD is still checking on the authenticity of the documents. Meanwhile 'Allahyarham' Mohamed Syarizal Wahab is still declared dead and finding out the hard way what it feels like being in limbo.
I wonder what you, the readers would do in a similar situation. How would you react and feel?
A related 'dead while alive' post: Sorry Ma'am You're Dead!
On top of that, creditors are knocking at his door, never mind that he has been certified dead. It is no wonder that bachelor Mohamed Syarizal Wahab is frustrated and angry. Someone had stolen his identity.
The first hint of trouble our 'late' Syarizal got was when he found himself blacklisted by the Road Transport Department for two traffic offences in 2004. On enquiring he was shocked to find that someone had used his name to buy another car with which the crook had committed these traffic offences. He then lodged a police report. After a brief lull, things started going awry and he was summoned to court by a finance company for not servicing his car loan.
On checking at the National Registration Department, he was informed that he had already died! Tracing his "death", he went to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital where he was told that he had not only "died" there on Jan 30 this year, he owed the hospital RM28.
Then, came another shock. When he checked with the EPF, he was told that a woman with an address in Felda Adela, Kota Tinggi, had been paid his savings of RM12,000. She had claimed to be his beneficiary. The woman, he was told, had provided the EPF with a complete set of documents — from the death certificates issued by the hospital and the NRD, a marriage certificate, and birth certificates of two children bearing his name as the father. "I nearly fainted when the officer informed me about this for I could not believe this was happening to me. I am not even married," he said.
But, there was more, as Syarizal found out. A finance company is getting a bankruptcy order against him for not servicing his car loan. "The finance company said it had repossessed the car and put it up for auction. I did not buy a car from the finance company and now I have to pay about RM30,000 or face bankruptcy!"
Syarizal has filed seven police reports but, he laments, investigations into his case were going at a snail’s pace. "Last month, an officer from the EPF came to meet me. He said they would clear things up and return the money, but until today, I have not received any feedback."
Meanwhile, Johor Baru (South) district police chief Assistant Commissioner Roslan Ahmad said police were investigating. Johor NRD director Ramli Awang Kassim said they were investigating the authenticity of the confirmation of death letter issued by a doctor at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru. "According to regulations, the death certificate is only issued if this letter and the NRIC are given to our department," he said.
**** A young, healthy and very much alive man who is in the prime of his life has been summoned for traffic offences he did not commit, blacklisted by the Road Transport Department, brought to court by a finance company for defaulting on a loan he never took for a car he never bought or owned, declared dead at a hospital where he still 'owed' RM28 and had his EPF savings stolen by a woman claiming to be his wife who produced two birth certificates naming him as the father when he was never even married!! It sounds like a script for some popular sitcom on TV.
And what have the concerned authorities been doing? The cops are still investigating, the EPF guys are still looking into the matter while the NRD is still checking on the authenticity of the documents. Meanwhile 'Allahyarham' Mohamed Syarizal Wahab is still declared dead and finding out the hard way what it feels like being in limbo.
I wonder what you, the readers would do in a similar situation. How would you react and feel?
A related 'dead while alive' post: Sorry Ma'am You're Dead!
posted by The Malaysian. at 9/28/2006 12:15:00 PM
4 Comments:
menj thanks for popping in. While we have at least the option to laugh, cry or do both at the same time, that poor chap must be having sleepless nights while sobbing his heart out.
That goes to show that data stored in those departments are easily obtainable by those who have access to the files and documents can and are being forged to rip people off.
With info now stored in computers, any Ahmad, Ah Seng or Samy, paid a few hundreds or thousands of ringgits working there can do a side job like that easily.
This used to be in the movies storyboard, now it's in real life.
Thanks mahaguru58 for your comments. You're absolutely right about data theft and the serious consequences of that. I really don't know how the authorities are going to manage this problem.
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