Forgery falls under Section 463 of the Penal Code: a person who makes any false document or electronic record or part of the same with intent to cause damage or injury to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or title, or to cause any person to part with property, or to enter into any express or implied contract, or with intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be committed, commits forgery.
There are several ways in which forgery can be committed:
1) Forgery
Section 463/465: Imprisonment for up to 4 years, or with fine, or with both
2) Forgery of a record of a court of justice, or a public register of births, etc
Section 466: Imprisonment for up to 10 years, and liable to a fine
3) Forgery of a valuable security or will
Section 467: Imprisonment for up to 15 years, and liable to a fine
4) Forgery for the purpose of cheating
Section 468: Imprisonment for up to 10 years, and liable to a fine
5) Forgery for the purpose of harming the reputation of any person
Section 469: Imprisonment for up to 5 years, and liable to a fine
Some notable cases involving forgery of documents in Singapore include PP v Chia Teck Leng (Asia Pacific Brewery case) where the accused was convicted and sentenced to 42 years’ imprisonment. In this case, the final irrecoverable loss to the victims totaled at S$62m.
