ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur—A security guard has been sentenced to two years and four months in jail for falsifying his Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test documents in an attempt to enter this city in August this year.
Judge Carlo Martin Alcala of the 9th Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 3 here found Nadznie Saharin Kasim, 34, a native of Tuburan, Basilan province, guilty of falsifying his RT-PCR document and sentenced him to two years and four months in jail in a decision issued the other day, said Vicente Larato, a communication staff of the Zamboanga City Hall. “(The conviction) should serve as a stern warning to all,” Larato said.
Kasim’s case was the first case against an individual with fake RT-PCR to have secured conviction here, according to Colonel Rexmel Reyes, director of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO).
Police apprehended Kasim at the Zamboanga City International Airport at 3:34 p.m. on August 20 after Dr. Olivia Villena of the Zamboanga City Health Office and Wilfred Camins of the City Tourism Office verified his RT-PCR document and found that the hospital where he supposedly took his test could not find any record of him, said Major Albin Cabayacruz, commanding officer of the Zamboanga City Police Station 7 (ZCPS7).
“When they got hold of his RT-PCR paper, they called the hospital where he supposedly took the test but the hospital denied having any of his record,” Cabayacruz said.
The record which Kasim presented to the authorities showed that he took his RT-PCR test at the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center Institute of Pathology in Santa Cruz, Manila on August 18.
The Zamboanga City local government only allowed individuals with negative RT-PCR results to enter here because of the pandemic. Aside from Kasim, the city’s border control personnel also intercepted other travelers with fake, falsified and spurious RT-PCR negative result certificates and had filed charges in Court.
Larato said the Court in a decision issued on September 10 found Kasim guilty of falsifying his RT-PCR test result after Kasim pleaded guilty of all the charges filed against him.
Kasim was also convicted for violating Section 5(q) of City Ordinance No. 532, or disregarding checkpoints or non-adherence to lawful directives of law enforcers manning checkpoints; and was also sentenced to one day in jail for it.
Kasim posted a bail of P38,000 for his temporary liberty and returned back to Basilan, Cabayacruz said.
Sarita Sebastian, the city tourism officer, said about a dozen individuals had been apprehended for presenting fake RT-PCR tests.