Legal Representative of the seven immigration officials – implicated in the immigration fraud case – submitted evidences to Chhukha District Court, yesterday. The evidences were to plea for alibi.
Phuentshogling Dungkhag Court had sentenced the seven, among 80 officials involved in the immigration fraud case, for three years each in August, this year.
The court debated the reliability and security of an online system the officials had used. Some of the evidences showed the implicated officials were in different locations while their office’s online system showed they were in another.
But, the Legal Representative said the online system is not secure and binding as the user name and password are shared among the colleagues.
The court then summoned the Immigration’s Regional Director, Sangay Tenzin to seek an expert opinion on the system.
The Regional Director said the system is not reliable with possibilities of staff misusing it. He also said their online system even accepts dots as the receipt numbers.
Sangay Tenzin also told the court that they share their user name and password with temporary workers during emergencies.
Another argument, the legal representative put forth, was to define public documents. He said the documents were not public but strictly confidential and that to book his clients under tampering of public documents is not fair.
The officials have been charged with tampering of public documents.
They have also been charged with entering fake money receipt numbers in their online system.
But, majority of them accepted bribery charges.
The next hearing is scheduled on December 9.
