Man gets $4,000 fine after forging grandfather's death cert for paid leave
Barath Gopal, 29, was fined $4,000 for forging his grandfather's death certificate to obtain paid compassionate leave.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Jasper Lim
PUBLISHED ONFebruary 06, 2025 10:13 AMByKhoo Yi-HangUnable to focus at work after discovering that his girlfriend had cheated on him, a man decided to forge his grandfather's death certificate in order to take leave from his job.
For his actions, Barath Gopal, 29, received a fine of $4,000 after pleading guilty on Wednesday (Feb 5) to one count of forgery under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, local media outlets reported on Thursday.
Gopal was working as a security financing operation analyst between November 2022 and December 2023, according to The Straits Times.
Distraught after finding out about his girlfriend's infidelity in November 2023, he decided to take a break from work.
However, instead of filing for leave using the four days of annual leave he had held at the time, Gopal lied to his supervisor.
He claimed that his grandfather had died in his sleep and requested three days of compassionate leave — the maximum duration allowed under the company's policy. His leave request from Nov 8 to Nov 10, 2023, was granted.
When his supervisor requested for Gopal to submit his grandfather's death certificate, however, he delayed submission of the document, alleging that he could only get it once his father returned from India, reports stated.
On Dec 7, 2023, Gopal's supervisor instructed that he produce the death certificate the following day.
Gopal instead reached out to the stepmother of his deceased friend for their death certificate, receiving a soft copy of it which he then edited, reported CNA.
Changing the fields to fit his grandfather's particulars, he cropped out the bottom of the document — which contains a QR code verifying its authenticity — and sent the document to his supervisor.
Gopal eventually produced the full document upon his supervisor's insistence. He tendered his resignation a week later as he knew he would soon be found out.
The prosecutor for the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, which issues death certificates, noted that Gopal's former company lost almost $500 paying for Barath’s compassionate leave, seeking a fine of $4,000 to $5,000, The Straits Times reported.
Offenders found guilty of forging a death, birth or stillbirth certificate face a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
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