"Normally, they (users of fake Malaysian passports) paid more than RM20,000 to buy a fake Malaysian passport but (the price) also depended on which syndicate," he said. As part of efforts to stem the usage of fake Malaysian passports, Thai Immigration officers, he said, had been conducting stricter checks on Malaysian passport holders, including questioning them about basic Bahasa Malaysia and their general knowledge of the country. In February this year, Thai authorities crippled a major international fake passport syndicate with the arrest of an Iranian, Hamid Reza Jafari, 48, popularly known as "The Doctor", and seized more than 173 fake international passports. According to the Thai Immigration Bureau, both incidents involved Malaysian passports which were listed as lost earlier, but reused and stamped with new identities to disguise the particulars of the original owners. BANGKOK: The privileges enjoyed by Malaysian passport holders has turned the country's passport into one of the most highly sought-after travel documents by "clients" of fake passport syndicates, according to the Thailand Immigration Bureau.

Source: New Strait Times July 12, 2016 16:41 UTC