Eagle eyed licensing officers from Wolverhampton City Council have been praised after helping bring a forger to justice.

Mechanic Karabandan Singh Sundal pleaded guilty to 2 offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 for making and using a fraudulent MOT certificate.

The offences came to light when a private hire driver brought what he thought was a genuine MOT certificate to a licensing review hearing.

The driver had gone to Sundal at J M Mercedes garage in Cable Street to ask him to carry out repairs required to pass an MOT.

But licensing officers spotted that the certificate provided at the hearing was counterfeit and passed the matter on to Wolverhampton Trading Standards, who launched an investigation.

Under interview Sundal, aged 27, admitted producing a false MOT certificate and issuing it to the driver.

Sundal pleaded guilty to the offences at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court on 29 July. He was fined £200 and ordered to pay £300 costs and a surcharge fee of £20.

Councillor John Reynolds, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for City Services, said: "The hard work and vigilance of our officers have helped bring this forger to justice.

"What he did was potentially very dangerous for the driver, his passengers and other road users.

"Public safety is of paramount importance to us and we will not hesitate to take strong action when this is compromised.

"But, this offender was caught out thanks to the excellent work of our licensing officers and I hope this sends out a clear message that this will not be tolerated."

  • released: Wednesday 6 August, 2014