Passport sought in dead brother's name

A man who attempted to obtain a passport in his dead brother's name was fined when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court recently.

The accused, Ronald Miller, pleaded guilty to the charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, and false declaration.

Miller's guilty plea was accompanied by an explanation.

"Me daughter up there [overseas] and I wanted to visit her. Before my mother died, I asked her for my birth certificate and she say she can't find it. After she died, I found my dead brother's papers and tried for the passport with his name," he said.

When the presiding judge senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey told the accused that he could be fined up to $3 million for the offence, he begged for mercy.

"I'm guilty, your honour, but I'm begging you to have mercy on me. Remember, I'm an old man. I don't have that much money" he pleaded.

The judge reminded Miller that at his age, he should have known it was wrong to apply for a passport under another person's name.

Miller was ordered to pay $130,000 for all the offences or spend six months in prison.