A BUSINESSMAN has been jailed for 12 months for using a fake Covid-19 test certificate in an attempt to travel to Saudi Arabia.
The 39-year-old Yemeni is said to have forged the certificate by changing a previous PCR test date from April 14 this year to June 3 using a computer programme, according to court documents.
He was arrested at King Fahad Causeway by the Saudi authorities on June 3.
He was found guilty of forgery and fraud by the High Criminal Court yesterday.
The defendant told judges that he was in a rush to visit his sick son in Saudi Arabia and forged the PCR test out of “good intention”.
A Saudi official suspected him after he did not find a QR code on the PCR test.
The defendant was asked to show his BeAware Bahrain application before finding out that his last PCR test was done in April.
“Saudi officials suspected the defendant when he tried to enter the kingdom via King Fahad Causeway,” read the court ruling.
“He was arrested and he confessed to the charges.”
The defendant told judges that his wife informed him that their son was sick and admitted at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
“I tried to get a PCR test but the hospital in Bahrain told me I had to wait 12 hours.
“I did not know what to do and changed the date of a previous PCR test because I was extremely worried about my son and had to travel to Saudi Arabia.
“I was later arrested and could not even visit my son at the hospital.”
The GDN reported in July that a 38-year-old Bahraini was jailed for three years for faking a PCR test.
He was found guilty by the High Criminal Court of forging PCR test results as well as using the fake document to travel to Saudi Arabia.
He, however, objected to the verdict following which his sentence was slashed to a year in jail.
He was caught on King Fahad Causeway on June 27 this year.
In another case, two Bahraini men were jailed for also forging Covid-19 test reports to travel across the causeway and sell the famous Bahraini halwa, a traditional sweet, in Saudi Arabia.
The men, aged 33 and 35, were found guilty of forgery by the Lower Criminal Court in August, which jailed each of them for 12 months.
The men were caught at the Saudi border in May this year.
A Chinese man is also standing trial at the High Criminal Court in connection with forging his PCR test.
The 41-year-old, who travelled to Saudi Arabia on June 30 to pick up two managers of his company, was arrested on his return the same day.
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