ALEXANDRIA: A factory worker in Alexandria is awaiting trial for 'obtaining' someone else's birth certificate and false ID papers to avoid military service. According to police, Fathi Mahmoud Abdel Aal's crime was discovered 45 years later, when he went off to get the new plastic ID card with a national number from the Civil Affairs Department in Alexandria. In the process it was discovered that he had apparently already been issued such an ID card, as the department's database showed, though this was the first time he'd set off to get his national number. Fathi was called in and, under questioning from Brigadier General Jamal Dahrouj, director of investigation at the Civil Registry, he spilled the beans. He said: "My name is Fathi Mahmoud Abdel Aal [65 years old]... residing in Al-Muntasah... When my turn to perform military service came up 45 years ago, I got hold of Fathi Imran's birth certificate, from Minya Al-Basal. "This was after I made sure that he was no longer required for recruitment. I then got a personal identity card, and got married twice on my new name and was gifted with seven children. They were all registered under my false name. He added: "After so many years had passed, I never imagined for a moment that the crimes I committed would be detected, nor was I afraid for my children after me, because I have no money for them to inherit. The accused did express his regret for this crime and what his children will have to go though to change their names on official documents. He has since been referred to the general prosecutor who ordered him remanded in custody pending trail. Dr Omar Al Farouk, former dean of the faculty of law at Banha University, explained that while the original crime of forgery had been dropped because the time limit had elapsed, using forged documents issued from this original forgery was a crime in itself that was still valid. He added that the children and wife had every right to correct their names, while preserving their legal status with regards to their positions as government employees. Their jobs were also secure because they had attained certificates that got them these jobs. Moreover, the person whose name was stolen had the right to initiate legal proceedings against the accused and his family, to clear his own name and to force them to correct their names.
