THREE people accused of faking Covid-19 test results have claimed that they were duped by an expatriate and a woman who posed as a nurse.
The 21-year-old Kuwaiti university student and two Bahraini women, aged 22 and 30, are standing trial at the High Criminal Court in connection with fraud. They have been accused of using fake documents to travel to Kuwait via King Fahad Causeway.
The defendants were arrested on September 9 by Saudi authorities after customs officers scanned the QR code on their RT-PCR reports. They found the documents fake and handed over the suspects to Bahraini officials.
However, the male defendant denied wrongdoing and said that an Indian man, whom he had met on the street, tricked him into believing that the PCR test he conducted was legitimate.
“I am not guilty because I did not forge anything,” he said in his statement to prosecutors.
“I wanted to travel to Kuwait. I was looking for a hospital to do the mandatory RT-PCR test when I met an Indian man on Exhibition Avenue.
“He asked me to meet him near Bahrain International Airport and promised help to get a Covid-19 test done at a hospital.”
The 21-year-old claimed he and his co-defendants were conned by the Indian who was accompanied by a woman posing as a nurse.
“I went with the two women (co-defendants) and a female nurse met us on the street and took our nasal swabs immediately,” he said.
“The Indian man told me that he would send me the results on WhatsApp.
“I did not expect him to trick us, but when I was arrested I realised that he had forged the RT-PCR documents.”
Policemen contacted Health Ministry officials who confirmed that the defendants did not have an appointment scheduled or sample taken as stated on the forged document.
The trial has been adjourned until Tuesday for review.
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