Court Tries Construction Worker Accused of Using Forged Medical Certificates

Manama: The First High Criminal Court has begun the trial of a 28-year-old Asian construction worker accused of using forged medical certificates, with the case adjourned until January 6, 2026, to allow for review, response, and the issuance of a copy of the case file. The defendant remains in custody.

The Public Prosecution charged the defendant with forging official documents during 2024 and 2025, specifically medical certificates falsely attributed to the Ministry of Health, and with knowingly using the forged documents by submitting them to a construction company.

According to testimony from the company’s Human Resources manager, the defendant submitted four medical certificates issued by a health centre. Upon verification, only one certificate was found to be authentic, while the remaining three were determined to be falsified. The manager added that the defendant later handed the certificates to the company accountant after signing them.

An accountant at a contracting company affiliated with the construction firm testified that the defendant was absent from work for four days, three in 2024 and one in 2025, and that he received medical certificates from the defendant for those absences, except for one day for which he could not recall receiving a certificate.

A family medicine specialist from the health centre told the court that the medical certificate dated December 3, 2024, was valid and verified through a security code. However, he confirmed that certificates dated November 18, December 12, and January 9, 2025, were entirely fabricated. He explained that discrepancies in writing style, spacing, numbering, and formatting indicated forgery, adding that the certificates wrongly included doctors’ names and medical condition details that do not appear on genuine certificates.

He further stated that the doctors named on the forged certificates did not work at the health centre in question.

The Public Prosecution also presented a letter from the Ministry of Health confirming that the defendant visited the health centre on December 3, 2024, and was issued a sick leave certificate for that date only.

During the investigation, the defendant acknowledged that the dates listed on the medical certificates referred to him.