An Instagram user in Indonesia has been called out for offering to forge Covid-19 test results.

According to The Jakarta Post, a user with the handle @hanzdays posted that he could provide faked polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results for 650,000 rupiahs (S$60).

Documents declaring an individual free of Covid-19 are required in Indonesia for those wishing to travel to other cities.

The post was later shared by prominent social media influencer and doctor Tirta Mandira Hudhi who lambasted the forger for endangering the public reported The Jakarta Post.

"Do not take advantage of Covid-19 for such a matter. Are you aware of how many people have been disadvantaged by this?" said Tirta.

Issuing faked documents within an hour

The @hanzdays profile is currently set to private, though it has over 40,000 followers.

The user, who has yet to be identified, reportedly said he could forge a test within an hour. Those wishing to purchase one only needed to present their identity card to him.

He had boasted that more than 30 people had already used his service.

Subsequently, Bumame Farmais, a pharmacological company whose logo had appeared on one of the faked PCR test results said they were going to utilise a QR code on future tests results that could be used to verify its authenticity.

The QR code would allow a verifier to view the original result on the company's database by scanning the code.

Forged documents

The use of forged medical certificates to circumvent Indonesia's movement restrictions has plagued the country since mid-2020.

In May 2020, CNA reported that police were clamping down on the sale and use of faked certificates.

Both sellers and buyers could face charges, said the national police spokesperson at the time.

Police in all provinces across Indonesia were instructed to be on the lookout for the forged documents.

At the time, seven people had been arrested in Bali for selling fake certificates to travellers hoping to board a Java-bound ferry, reported CNA.

Top image from Mufid Majnun via Unsplash