KOTA BHARU: The Kelantan police have detained a man believed to have been using a false ‘Datuk’ title and another man suspected of posing as a member of the Kelantan royal family.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat said both suspects were detained after police received a report from the Kelantan palace on Feb 25 regarding an individual falsifying documents and posing as a recipient of an award with the title of Datuk from the Kelantan palace.
He said based on further investigations, the police detained a civil servant, aged 48, in Machang on Feb 27.
“In the raid, the police confiscated a name card with a ‘Datuk’ title and investigations revealed that the suspect got the card from a man claiming to be a Kelantan royal,” he said to reporters at the Kelantan contingent police headquarters here, today.
Following that, Shafien said the police then conducted another raid in Tanah Merah and detained a man, 69, and seized several documents, cards and letters with photos and charts of the Kelantan palace.
“During the raid, the suspect was discovered to be in the midst of approaching people for donations. Also, the police found five Istana Balai Besar member cards, a stamp engraved with the phrase ‘Kerabat Diraja’.
Investigations revealed the suspect was not connected to the palace and was using false information to impersonate as royalty,” he said.
He said the case would be investigated under Section 419 of the Penal Code for cheating and impersonation, Section 468 of the same act for falsifying a letter from the palace and Section 473 for possession of a fake stamp.
“The 69-year-old suspect will be charged at the Tumpat Magistrate’s Court and the Machang Magistrate’s Court on March 8 while the 48-year-old suspect will be a witness in the case,” he said.
Shafien also warned against using false information and claim to be associated with the Kelantan palace.
“Just to be clear, the Kelantan palace has never issued any name card to any individual to be conferred the title ‘Datuk’ and only presents awards.
“Regarding such cases, the Kelantan police urge any individual who has received fake Datukships or have doubts to come forward to aid investigations,” he added. -Bernama
