A woman in Singapore was fined S$5,000 (approximately ₹3.2 lakh) for forging a medical certificate to take sick leave. Su Qin, 37, sought time off due to her own health issues and concerns for her mother’s well-being but wanted to avoid leaving a “bad impression” at work, as reported by Channel News Asia.
To address her dilemma, Qin decided to forge a medical certificate. She modified an old certificate using Photoshop to create the appearance of illness. The Chinese national, employed in Singapore, aimed to have her hospitalization leave approved with the fabricated document. She was absent from her position at ETC Singapore SEC from March 23 to April 3 of this year.
On April 1, 2024, Qin edited the medical certificate, as reported by news website Mothership. Living near St. Luke’s Hospital, she changed the certificate’s header to reflect the hospital’s name and altered the hospitalization dates to align with her leave. She also dated the certificate to March 31 and blurred the QR code, which ultimately led to her deception being uncovered.
Qin submitted the forged certificate to her company’s human resources department before resigning on April 4. During routine checks, the HR head discovered the altered document and noted the blurred QR code. When the QR code was scanned, it directed to a broken link. The HR head requested the original certificate, prompting Qin to create a new website and generate a valid QR code.
Using Photoshop once again, she edited the new QR code onto the forged certificate and submitted this second version to her employer on April 8. That same day, the department head confronted Qin, demanding an explanation for both forgeries. She was subsequently fired with 24 hours’ notice.
Following this, the HR head filed a police complaint. According to Channel News Asia, it was also revealed that Qin had forged her mother’s death certificate. Court documents indicate that she received S$3,541.15 during her nine days of sick leave. Qin has since reimbursed the company and has been ordered to pay an additional fine of S$5,000.
