Who knew that RM500 is all you need to obtain an SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) or STPM (Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia) certificate?
The Sun reported that an SPM or STPM certificate can be bought for a mere RM500 through a scheme that was advertised on WhatsApp. This scheme targets school leavers who have failed their SPM or STPM and are desperate for the certificates to secure a job or to pursue higher education.
The report further revealed that many SPM and STPM leavers, who didn’t meet the entry qualifications for higher education institutes, managed to get a “decent certificate” from the forger, who claimed to have had “inside help” from the ministry.
Not only that, students who have failed their Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and History papers have also reportedly sought after the forger’s help to get “better” SPM results.
Therefore, to seek for information on the scheme, an Oriental Daily News reporter contacted the forger, Mr Huang, pretending to be a potential customer. FYI, you can read the original report here.
Their first exchange was via WhatsApp where the reporter learnt that it would cost him RM500 to obtain an SPM certificate. Following that, the reporter then rang up Mr Huang to inquire more about his services and found out that the certificate (SPM/STPM) will display nothing more than a credit (an average grade of C) to avoid suspicions.
Mr Huang also assured the reporter that he will not get into trouble with the Ministry of Education because someone from within the ministry is helping him out. Hmm…
He then explained that he only needs the reporter’s name, the name of his school or even a copy of his original SPM certificate to carry on with the forgery. Mr Huang was quoted as saying,
“We have been doing this for many years. I can guarantee you that you can use this certificate to apply for entry to higher education institutions or for jobs without any problem.”
“We have our people in the ministry, whatever scores (are) shown on your certificate are the same as those kept in the ministry’s database. So don’t worry.”
Sounds fishy!
Hopefully, not many people have utilised this scheme because it’s actually illegal to commit forgery (Section 468 of the Penal Code) with the intention to cheat. Have you ever come across schemes like this? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: M’sians Express Shame After Taiwanese Tourist Shared How He Got Scammed in KL Sentral