During the meeting held by the State Health Board on Monday, Governor Alfaro was asked about the risk of falsification of vaccination certificates and PCR test results by residents, for which the governor responded that falsifying an official document is a crime for which there would be penalties.
He said, “What you have to tell the people who listen to us is that falsifying an official document is a crime. If someone falsifies an official document, they are committing a crime and that has a penalty.”
Falsifying a COVID-19 vaccination certificates is a federal crime. The sanction can be from 4 to 12 years in prison, according to the Federal Criminal Code.
In accordance with article 243 of the Federal Criminal Code, “the crime of falsification shall be punished, in the case of public documents, with a prison term of four to eight years, and a fine of two hundred to three hundred and sixty days.” (The current “day” wage is 172.87 pesos. That times 360 is 62,233 pesos, or about $3,111 USD.)
However, the penalty can be increased by up to half if the crime is carried out by a public servant; that is, up to 12 years in prison.
