Kuantan: Two men were each sentenced to 14 days' jail and fined RM8,000 by the Magistrate's Court here today after pleading guilty to forging 40 medical certificates between March and July.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohd Shukrie Zainuddin, 28, and Muhammad Asyraf Zunaidy, 31, admitted to the offence after the charge was read before Magistrate Ellyna Othman. They face an additional eight months' jail if they fail to pay the fine.

The charge sheet revealed that the duo had dishonestly created fake documents involving 40 medical certificates from a clinic, using the name and signature of a doctor with the intention to deceive. The offence was allegedly committed at a factory along Jalan Bypass Gebeng here between March 28 and July 13.

The charge, framed under Section 465 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, carries a maximum jail term of two years, or a fine, or both upon conviction. Deputy public prosecutor B. Deevagaran Naidu prosecuted the case, while the accused were represented by a National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer. The lawyer stated that the men regretted their actions and would not repeat the offence.

Deevagaran Naidu, however, urged the court to impose a suitable sentence as the fake certificates used the name of a clinic and a qualified doctor.