By Elena Chong

AN INDIAN national who lied that he had a diploma when he applied for an S-pass two years ago was jailed for four weeks on Friday.

Chelandy Madathil Krishnan, 53, had also similarly lied in his application for permanent residence when he tried to get an entry permit at the ICA Building on March 1.

He had claimed that his highest academic qualification was a diploma in mechanical engineering, and that he had qualified from the Department of Technical Education in Kerala, India.

A district court heard that his claim that he was a graduate from a government polytechnic was false.

Based on the false particular in his application form, an S-pass was issued to him in September 2006.

He then worked for Northern Laboratories, now called Northlab, as a mechanical supervisor until April on a monthly salary of $1,800.

He had in fact bought the forged diploma certificate in India for 2,000 rupees.

His lawyer Ignatius Joseph said Chelandy did this after an employment agent told him that he would not be able to get an employment pass due to his advanced age unless he got a false diploma.