Man used app to forge vaccine certificate to eat at restaurant

To enter a restaurant, a man was asked for proof that he was inoculated against Covid-19.

The man showed the restaurant's supervisor a vaccination certificate on his phone.

But staff spotted that the document was forged and made a police report.

Yesterday, Zhang Shaopeng, 30, a Chinese national, was sentenced to three weeks' jail, becoming the first person here to be convicted of forging a Covid-19 vaccination certificate to dine in at eateries.

According to court documents, Zhang and two of his colleagues, both Chinese nationals, were supposed to attend a solar power exhibition in the United States on Sept 21, but as there were entry restrictions for those who had spent the last 14 days in China, they came to Singapore first to stay for more than 14 days.

They arrived on different days, all testing negative for the virus and were quarantined.

Before Zhang landed on Aug 27, his colleagues went to a clinic to validate their overseas vaccination certificates and were given doctor's memos certifying them.

Zhang met his colleagues a day after he arrived, and they told him that he needed a written document from a designated clinic certifying that he was vaccinated if he wanted to eat in restaurants here and suggested he visit a doctor to get the memo.

On Aug 29, Zhang asked one of his colleagues to send him a copy of the memo via WeChat, and he used a photo-editing app on his phone to remove his friend's name from the file and insert his own name.

Three days later, Zhang checked out from his hotel as it was too expensive and moved to a service apartment. To thank his friends who helped him move his luggage, he offered to buy them a meal and the trio headed to Tanuki Raw bar and restaurant in Orchard Central.

They arrived at the restaurant at about 1pm and was asked by its supervisor for proof of their vaccination status.

Zhang showed the supervisor the forged memo, while his friends showed their real ones, and the supervisor took photos of them and sent them to her management.

The manager of the restaurant noticed that the serial number on Zhang's certificate was the same as the one on his friend's and the group was asked to leave the restaurant, before the manager lodged a police report.

Zhang was arrested on Sept 14.

The prosecution urged the court to jail Zhang for three to four weeks, saying the court needed to send a clear signal that such conduct will be met with certain and serious punishment.

Zhang's lawyer asked the court for a high fine or a jail term of not more than two weeks, saying Zhang was fully vaccinated, having received the Sinovac jab, and had made a foolish mistake.

For forgery, Zhang could have been jailed for up to four years and fined. His sentence was backdated to Sept 14.

Tanuki Raw owner Howard Lo told The New Paper that all staff are instructed to ensure that diners check in with SafeEntry and verify their vaccination status - using the TraceTogether app or a proof of vaccination document recognised by the Government.

"When in doubt, we brief our staff to consult restaurant management," he said, adding that the restaurant's protocols helped them to quickly identify the forged document.

He also said the restaurant made the police report after a safe distancing ambassador advised them to do so.

Vaccination-differentiated measures for restaurants have been in place since Aug 10, and soon after, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the authorities were aware that people were using other people's vaccination certificates to dine at restaurants.

The Straits Times reported that some eateries had to turn away customers with fake vaccination certificates and some whose full-vaccination status was not yet valid.

For example, Thai restaurant 87 Just Thai Killiney in Killiney Road had to reject 10 customers on the first day alone.

When asked about the number of incidents since the Sept 1 incident, Mr Lo said that after the TraceTogether app was updated to have a non-static display and a refresh button, instances of vaccination status forgery have dropped.

"We do not keep count of such incidents. There have been very few," he added.

With restrictions of no dining-in and curbs on group sizes hitting the coffers of restaurants over the last few months, Mr Lo urged everyone to follow the rules.

He said: "Singapore's food and beverage industry is struggling for survival. The penalties are severe if an F&B outlet is caught breaking the law.

"While it hurts our business to turn diners away, we commit to doing this if we cannot legally allow them to enter our premises. Our diners' and colleagues' safety and health are our priorities. Our outlets also provide jobs. We will not jeopardise the livelihoods of our staff.

"We simply ask that customers please abide by the law."