BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE female national of the Dominican Republic, charged with passport fraud, appeared yesterday (Mar. 14) at the District ‘B’ Magistrate Court and was fined EC$400 for the offence.
According to Police PRO Sergeant Stephen Hector, Aracelis Gonzalez Santana of Mad House Alley, Newtown was fined EC$400 which she had to pay forthwith and was again remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison until the date of her departure to the Dominican Republic, which is said to be shortly.
Hector said that “investigations revealed that Santana fraudulently by impersonation and false representation held herself out as the holder and right possessor of a St. Christopher and Nevis Passport”.
He also said that the offence was committed on March 23, 2008 and, before her appearance in court yesterday, she was sometime in the past refused bail and remanded to prison.
The PRO stated that Santana’s birth certificate indicated that she was born on September 22, 1984 and the passport which she fraudulently obtained bears the name Alba Elizabeth Pena-Brito, born on November 25, 1990.
Meanwhile, Hector siad that the Commissioner of Police wishes to sensitise the general public and all stake holders of the need to be more vigilant when viewing documents used for identification purposes.
"Documentary Fraud, though an international problem, can be detected locally if the neccessary guidelines for due dilligence checks are consistently made coupled with other techniques being applied.
"Mr. C.G. Walwyn urges the general public and the corperate community in particular to contact our Agency if their is any doubt or suspicion as to the validity of documents used for the purposes of identification presented to your institutions," he added.
