SINGAPORE — Having only completed primary school, Chin Ming Lik resorted to forging a variety of education and work certificates, such as a National University of Singapore (NUS) "first class degree scroll", to secure jobs.

Over four years, he used these fake certificates to gain employment at 38 companies in the civil engineering field as he heard project managers in this sector drew good salaries.

To avoid suspicion, the 49-year-old worked at each company for short periods of time. The monthly salaries he earned from the various firms that hired him ranged from S$3,500 to S$8,000.

On Tuesday (March 5), Chin was sentenced to two years and 11 months’ jail and a S$1,600 fine.

The father of two young boys pleaded guilty to eight assorted charges, including theft as well as forgery for the purpose of cheating. Another 13 similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

His lawyer James Ow Yong told the court that Chin was the sole breadwinner of his family, and was diagnosed with depression at the Institute of Mental Health.

His younger son — who was two years old at the time of the offences — suffers from asthma, said the lawyer.

Chin pays S$200 for every visit to the doctor, while supporting his physically disabled younger brother and older brother, who has advanced lung cancer.

“Out of desperation, the accused forged the certificates in order to find a better-paying job as his family members depend on him heavily for his financial provision,” Mr Ow Yong said.

FORGED CERTS, DROVE WITHOUT LICENCE, STOLE DIAPERS

The court heard that Chin used fake certificates to apply for jobs from 2013 to 2017.

He started with A-Level certificates. In 2012 he found a photocopy of a colleague’s certificate and forged a copy for himself, then used it to apply for jobs in 2013.

In his resume, he claimed to have 16 years of experience in construction companies such as Obayashi Corporation and Takenaga Corporation Singapore.

Once, he applied for a project manager job at CHL Construction, but turned down the offered monthly salary of S$7,500 as he found it insufficient.

Sometime around January 2014, Chin also falsified these:

• A "NUS first class in civil engineering degree scroll, dated Apr 30, 2014", according to court papers. He used an image of the NUS degree scroll from a Google search to make the forgery.

• Building Construction Supervisors Safety Course Certificate, purportedly issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). He came across a copy of it in an office he worked at.

• Lifting Supervisor Safety Course issued by MOM

• Risk Management Course issued by the Singapore Contractors Association (SCAL) Academy

• Supervision of Metal Scaffold Erection Course issued by SCAL Academy

• Work at Height Course for Supervisors issued by QMT Industrial & Safety

• Construction Safety Course for Project Managers issued by Avanta Global

On Sept 9, 2015, Chin made a statutory declaration that he could not provide original copies of the forged certificates. He falsely stated that he had misplaced 10 original certificates when he changed his place of residence.

These included O- and A-Level certificates, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic technician diploma in building maintenance and management, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Universiti Putra Malaysia.

This was because he was aware that potential employers could ask to see the original certificates to verify them.

On Dec 2, 2016, an assistant manager from the NUS registrar’s office made a police report against Chin, after a firm he had applied to sent his forged NUS degree scroll to the university for verification, and it did not match any records in their database.

Chin was then placed on a stop list for investigation purposes. About four months later, he was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint after his car was stopped for checks.

There, he admitted to driving with just a provisional driving licence. He had been disqualified from driving since 1992 and was in the process of getting his licence again. He also admitted to driving four different cars without a valid licence for 10 years.

After his arrest, police searched his residence. They seized items such as a driving licence and NRIC card with the name “Anthony Phan”.

On Sept 17, 2017, Chin also stole two packs of diapers and two packets of rice from an NTUC FairPrice supermarket. He has made full restitution of S$133.40.