Ending her agony: (From left) Lawyer Ivan Tan Kai Yong, Chong, Wong and her husband, and lawyer Marcus Chong.
KUALA LUMPUR: A woman whose identity card was lost in 2008 continues to run into problems despite her lodging a police report about the loss back then.
The woman, known only as Madam Wong, claimed she was even informed by the National Registration Department (NRD) in Ipoh that records showed her to be a mother of three children and that she had applied for loans from ah long (illegal moneylenders).
The woman, who hails from Perak, said after losing her Malaysian identity card 16 years ago, she had immediately reported it to the police and applied for a new one.
“When I tried to register my marriage in 2015, I was informed by an NRD officer in Ipoh that records showed I have three children.
“I was stunned because at that time, I was unmarried and without children,” she said, adding that her then-boyfriend, now her husband, almost broke up with her because of it.
She said she also reported the matter to the police.
“My matter was then referred to the Putrajaya NRD for further investigation,” said the 38-year-old, who later successfully registered her marriage with her husband in November 2015 and now has a two-year-old son.
Wong said she had also asked for the names of the three children registered under her name to be removed as she has “no relationship with them”.
“However, in 2022, I received a text message from a moneylender instructing me to contact the borrower to settle a debt of RM90,000,” she told a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.
From the message, she suspected that a relative had likely misused her identity card to apply for the loan and registered the names of the children.
Nine years had passed. Yet, her case is still pending and yet to be resolved, she added.
“My son was born two years ago. I faced issues when applying for his birth certificate.
“This is the fourth NRD officer handling my case since 2015 and the fifth officer is expected to take over soon,” said Wong, who works in administration.
She is also worried that her lost identity card might be further misused for illegal activities.
Chong pointed out that cases of identity card misuse are not uncommon. However, he said that such misuse usually involves borrowing money from loan sharks, adding that it is rare to encounter cases where is used to register the births of children.
