Vitebsk painter forged sick leave certificates for five years

April 10, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A Vitebsk painter has been forging sick leave certificates for five years, the information and public relations department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate told a BELTA correspondent. Once, an employee of a construction company in the regional center realized that his job interfered with his passion for alcoholic beverages. He did not want to lose his stable income, so he had to find an answer to the rhetorical question "what to do". A temporary disability certificate that caught his eye accidentally helped him. Yielding to his creative urge, the painter used specially made chemical reagents to erase the old data from the document and write in the necessary information. The forgery did not raise any doubts at the enterprise, which became the basis for the further active activities of the "artist". From 2004 to 2009, the man "issued" dozens of sick leave certificates to himself, his common-law wife, and a wide circle of acquaintances who were not averse to taking state-paid holidays. He charged from Br50 thousand to Br250 thousand for his services. This profitable hobby, which required full dedication, so captivated the creative nature that the man even underwent coding over time. However, all secrets eventually come to light: the talented "artist" turned out to be a poor chemist, so over time the forgery became noticeable. One not-so-fine day, police officers appeared at his doorstep. During the search, they seized 180 clichés of stamps and seals from various medical institutions and another sick leave certificate "in progress" for a client (the Vitebsk resident failed to obtain blank forms). A criminal case has been initiated against the man under Part 2 of Article 380 of the Criminal Code of Belarus for forging and using official documents, and for manufacturing fake stamps and seals. This article provides for up to three years of imprisonment. -0-