Malaysian employees tampering with Covid-19 self-test kits to avoid work

It was only a matter of time before it came to this.

To skip work, some enterprising employees in Malaysia have taken to tampering with Covid-19 self-test kits, reported The Star.

An employee who resorted to using photo-editing software to doctor a picture of his self-test kit result boasted to the Malaysian news publication: “It is easy. Nobody can detect it unless they check the photo thoroughly."

His Covid-19 test kit result showed only one line initially, indicating that he is Covid-19 negative. 

He then takes a photo of the result and with a photo-editing software, clones the single line and places it next to the "T" indicator.

And voila, his test kit now shows a positive result.

The doctored image was sent to Malaysia's Covid-19 tracing mobile app MySejahtera and the man claimed he received a Home Surveillance Order shortly after.

Apart from his method, other people have also bragged about using positive Covid-19 test results from friends or relatives to lie to their employers.  

One woman told The Star that she was "forced" to fake her Covid-19 test result, using her friend's positive test result to get quarantine leave to take care of her two-year-old son.

She reasoned that she had little choice as her babysitter had to return to Perak for a family emergency and she had no one to help look after her toddler. Her leave application was also denied. 

Employers in Malaysia said they are aware of the issue and the possibility for abuse as Malaysia's current Covid-19 reporting system requires no medical certificates from a physician, reported The Star.

Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said: “Employers should manage the abuser under its own disciplinary action. Stern action should be imposed on the abuser because such abuse will jeopardise company operations and mislead the authorities who are working to manage the pandemic."

On TikTok, there are numerous videos on ways to falsify a Covid-19 test result, from using lemon juice to editing on Snapchat. 

But before you get too excited about giving these cheat codes a go, do note that in Singapore, you can get in trouble with the law if fake antigen rapid test (ART) results are submitted.

You can be convicted of cheating or forgery, reported The Straits Times. 

And those convicted of cheating can be fined or jailed for up to three years per charge, or both while those convicted of forgery can be jailed for up to four years or fined, or both.

ALSO READ: HSA says Singapore's Covid-19 test kits under brands in FDA's warning are not affected

amierul@asiaone.com