Document forger a security risk, says Crown

Rebecca Li leaves court yesterday. Picture / Dean Purcell

A Grey Lynn company director accused of forging dozens of degrees, diplomas and other official documents, including residency permits, has been committed for trial.

Rebecca Katsz Li, 34, who set up her commercial advertisement and design company, Reddix Productions, in Crummer Rd in 1997, faces 43 charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery.

At a depositions hearing in the Auckland District Court yesterday, Crown prosecutor Bruce Northwood said that in the seven years to 2004, Li agreed with other unknown people to generate a "not inconsiderable" number of high-quality fraudulent official documents and certificates.

Li's lawyer, Gary Gotlieb, conceded that there was a prima facie case to answer.

Li, who was granted bail, will appear in court again next month.

The JPs heard that thousands of dollars was paid for the bogus qualifications by people, many of them with Chinese-sounding names.

One Chinese man told the JPs that he paid a man $5000 for a phoney English-language proficiency certificate.

The Crown maintains that the document was on Li's computer.

Mr Northwood told the JPs that the counterfeit documents included Auckland University and AUT degree certificates and exam results, and English-language proficiency certificates. Also included were a New Zealand birth certificate, a forged bank cheque for $20,000, Massey and Unitec business degrees, residency permits and two Queensland driving licences.

Police searching Li's premises found a number of documents and others on the computer.

They also located stamps and seals of various universities, including Auckland, Massey, AUT, Unitec, Victoria and Waikato, and other educational institutions and language schools.

Also found were an Immigration Service "residency permit" stamp and the stamp of a solicitor of the High Court.

Mr Northwood said the stamps and seals were designed to make the documents seem genuine.

Papers handed to the JPs said that residence permits allowed people to stay in this country and have access to welfare and free education.

They also allowed people to apply for citizenship after several years.

"Forging and selling those immigration documents are extremely detrimental to New Zealand's border safety as illegal immigrants or even terrorists may use such documents to gain entry to New Zealand," said the police summary of facts that was handed to the court.

Similarly, the forged degrees and academic results would undermine the reputation of New Zealand universities and harm the prospects of genuine graduates who worked hard for three or four years for their qualification.