Man charged with forging Covid-19 vaccination document to eat at restaurant

SINGAPORE – A man was so intent on dining at a restaurant amid the Covid-19 pandemic that he allegedly forged a doctor’s memorandum, purportedly showing that he was fully vaccinated against the virus.

Chinese national Zhang Shaopeng, 30, who appeared in a district court on Wednesday (Sept 15) via video link from the Central Police Division, was charged with one count of forgery.

Court documents did not reveal his actual vaccination status.

This is believed to be the first reported case of a person being charged in court over forging a vaccination document in an attempt to dine at a restaurant.

Earlier this month, Zhang is said to have forged the doctor’s memorandum, which was dated Aug 26.

He is accused of amending the document by adding his name to it so that others would assume that he was fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the police said Zhang allegedly produced a digital copy of the forged memorandum at an Orchard Road restaurant as he wanted to dine there on Sept 1.

They did not disclose details of the eatery.

The police added: “The staff of the establishment made a check on the memorandum and suspected that it could have been be forged.”

The staff requested the man to leave and he complied. They then reported the matter to the police.

After investigations, officers from Tanglin Police Division managed to establish Zhang’s identity and they arrested him on Tuesday.

Zhang, who was unrepresented in court, was offered bail of $5,000 on Wednesday.

His pre-trial conference will be held on Sept 21.

For forgery, an offender can be jailed for up to four years and fined.