Analyst forged grandpa's death cert to get compassionate leave after GF cheated on him
Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
Feb 5, 2025
Upset that his girlfriend had cheated on him, a man could not focus at work and forged a death certificate for his grandfather to get three days' paid compassionate leave.
On Feb 5, Barath Gopal, 29, was fined $4,000 after he pleaded guilty to one count of forging a document purporting to be a death certificate with the intent to commit fraud.
The Singaporean worked as a security financing operation analyst from November 2022 to December 2023.
The court heard that in November 2023, Barath's then girlfriend had cheated on him, which caused him to be upset and unable to focus on his work.
Despite having more than four days of annual leave that he could apply for, Barath lied to his supervisor that his grandfather had died in his sleep and asked for paid compassionate leave from Nov 8 to Nov 10, 2023. His request was granted.
When his supervisor told him to submit his grandfather's death certificate, he said he could get it only after his father returned from India.
Soon after, Barath asked a relative of his friend who had died in July 2023 for a copy of his friend's death certificate. He told the relative he needed it to explain his absence from work to attend the funeral.
Barath then forged the death certificate for his grandfather on his laptop and sent a photo of a part of it to his supervisor, deliberately omitting the bottom of the document that had a QR code for verifying the authenticity of the certificate.
Upon his supervisor's insistence, he eventually sent the entire document. He resigned in December when he knew his offence would come to light.
The prosecutor for the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, which issues death certificates, sought a fine of $4,000 to $5,000, noting that the company lost almost $500, the associated income from Barath's paid bereavement leave, as a result of his actions.
For forging a death certificate, an offender can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to 10 years, or both.
