Fake driving licences issued to drivers

National, Normal
Source:

By JEFFREY ELAPA

FAKE driving licences are being issued to drivers, resulting in increased road accidents, a senior traffic officer said.
Outgoing police traffic Sgt Gregory Magulis told The National that there were illegal and counterfeit licenses issued by both nationals and foreigners who were producing them.
Mr Magulis said a lot of traffic accidents in the country can be reduced if responsible authorities can eliminate these fakes, and establish strict control measures.
Mr Magulis, who shared his experience working with the traffic section, said because he was tough, those involved in the fake licence business moved to Lae and other centres.
He said he was concerned about the recent increase in road accidents in Madang, and referred to statistics for the years 2006-09.
The statistics indicated that 2007 topped the years with more than 147 accidents.
The three other years (2006, 2008 and 2009) had 120 put together.
Sgt Magulis said as soon as he took office as the OIC, he established control measures and people found it hard to unnecessarily obtain driving as it was practiced over the years through dubious deals.
“Many people are getting their licences from other centres using bribery or illegal ways of getting it.
“Since I oversee the traffic office in Madang, nobody has come and get driving licence from me because in fear of my tough decisions,” Sgt Magulis said.
He said the control measures he put in place made it easy for him and his officers to figure out which licences were genuine, and produced in Madang and which were fake.