A Father’s Lie, A Fake Birth Certificate?A Deep Dive into a Painful Legal Lesson on Adopted Child Citizenship

📖 Case Summary

– In 1996, the adoptive parents paid RM500 to take a baby girl from an acquaintance, falsely reporting her as their own on the birth certificate.

– In 2018, when 22-year-old Ms. E updated her ID, her MyKad was seized, her birth certificate was cancelled, and her status became ‘undetermined.’

– In 2026, the appellate court rejected her citizenship application.

⚖️ Three Key Legal Facts

1️⃣ One lie can void a birth certificate:

Under Section 27(3) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, false registration can be cancelled.

2️⃣ Private transactions ≠ legal abandonment:

The adoptive father paid an acquaintance for the baby, which is different from finding a child on the street, so Schedule 2, Article 19B of the Constitution doesn’t apply.

3️⃣ Bloodline proof is impossible:

With the biological parents unknown, there’s no way to show she didn’t inherit another nationality at birth, so Article 14(1)(b) of the Constitution can’t be satisfied.

💡 Advice for Adoptive Families

– That RM500 ‘reward’ could ruin a child’s life.

– First step upon finding an abandoned baby: report to the police and follow legal adoption procedures.

– Lies are always found out eventually—don’t wait until 22 to regret it.

Case Details

Case Name: Elaine Leong Ee Ling v Pendaftar Besar Warganegara & Ors

Court Case Number: W-01(A)-614-09/2024