A 37-year-old man was sentenced to six months in jail after using a digitally altered marriage certificate in an attempt to convince the Housing & Development Board (HDB) that he had married his girlfriend and could continue renting a flat.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Muhammad Faizal pleaded guilty to one charge of forging a document with the intention of deceiving the authorities. The case centred on his efforts to retain a one-room rental flat after his divorce left him no longer eligible to remain as the sole tenant.
Faizal had divorced his former wife in December 2021. The former couple had previously lived together in the rental flat, but his ex-wife moved out following the divorce and was removed from the tenancy arrangements.
HDB Told Him He Had To Move Out
After the divorce, HDB informed Faizal that he would have to demonstrate that he was married if he wanted to continue renting the unit on his own.
Otherwise, he would have needed to apply under a housing arrangement for singles with a roommate. As Faizal did not meet the requirements to remain in the flat under the existing arrangement, HDB issued a notice on July 24, 2023, instructing him to vacate the property and return it.
Rather than leave the flat, Faizal attempted to have his girlfriend and her daughter added as occupants. On Sept. 5, 2023, he applied to HDB and claimed that he had married his girlfriend.
However, he was unable to provide a marriage certificate at the time.
Used Girlfriend’s Old Marriage Certificate
Later that same day, Faizal secretly accessed his girlfriend’s mobile phone and found an electronic copy of her marriage certificate from her previous marriage.
He forwarded the document to himself before using photo-editing software to alter key details. The groom’s name, identity card number and marriage date were changed to make it appear that Faizal and his girlfriend were legally married.
The following day, he emailed the altered document to HDB as supporting evidence for his application.
The forged certificate apparently went undetected for almost a year.
Forgery Discovered During Another Housing Application
The authorities eventually uncovered the discrepancy in October 2024, after Faizal’s girlfriend made a separate application for a rental flat.
During that application, she declared that she was divorced and provided information relating to the custody of her daughter. This prompted authorities to examine the earlier marriage certificate submitted by Faizal.
Investigators found that the document was almost identical to the genuine marriage certificate belonging to the girlfriend and her former husband.
The main differences were reportedly the font used for the groom’s name, identity card number and marriage date.
The altered document stated that Faizal and his girlfriend had married on May 25, 2023. However, records showed that the woman had not yet officially divorced her former husband at that point.
Faizal’s attempt to use a falsified document to retain his rental flat therefore came to light, eventually leading to criminal proceedings and his six-month jail sentence.