Bogus Immigration Dept officer nabbed (Updated)

PUTRAJAYA: The Immigration Department has detained a 45-year-old Malaysian for impersonating as a senior official from the department, today.
Its director-general, Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali, said the man known as "James Tay" was arrested by a team of Immigration officers from the department's Intelligence, Special Operations and Analysis Division at 12.15pm in Bandar Sunway, near here.
"The suspect was picked up while waiting for a potential victim.
"When detained, the suspect was wearing the Immigration Department's uniform with the rank of senior deputy assistant director of Immigration (TPPK).
"Further inspections saw the officers recovering a bag containing five Immigration Department authority cards, five Immigration Department staff cards and nine special passes believed to be fake," he told reporters at the Immigration Department's headquarters, here, today.
Mustafar said initial investigations revealed that the suspect had been impersonating as an Immigration officer for the past five to six years.
"The suspect led the officers to his residence in Puchong Jaya where they found nine Immigration Department uniforms, one Indonesian passport, one Passport Travel Certificate (SPLP),
Immigration Department uniform accessories, foreign worker application forms, seven Immigration Department authority cards and 13 Immigration Department passes," he said.
The suspect who has been doing this on a full-time basis, he said uses that as a modus operandi to convince and deceive victims to deal with him in their efforts to procure a temporary working permit.
"Using a false name, he also engages potential customers by engaging them through social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram to advertise his activities.
"He usually promises victims that he is able to obtain a temporary working permit for them by charging each between RM3,000 to RM4,000 per application depending on their nationality.
"The victims will only realise that their temporary passes are fake when they get arrested by the Immigration Department.
"Most of the victims comprise foreigners and employers who either want to get their temporary working passes easily or those who have problems such as expired passes and having fled from employers," he said.
The department, he said is still investigating on how many victims the suspect had fleeced over the period he was operating as a bogus Immigration officer.
Mustafar admitted while the Immigration Department's uniforms and accessories can be easily tailored and duplicated, the people are advised to always deal with the Immigration Department at their offices and not through middlemen.