MONROVIA September 20 (LINA) -Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs, Atty. Isaac Jackson, has said government will prosecute anyone caught issuing to families of Ebola-related victims fake death certificates.

He made the statement amidst reports from the Ministry of Health that some individuals are in the criminal habit of issuing fake death certificates to families of people who have died of the deadly Ebola virus.

Addressing the Ministry of Information special press conference Friday, Jackson also noted that if someone is given a certificate that does not commensurate with the direct cause of death as in the case of Ebola, it endangers the lives of other Liberians, adding “It is a violation of the public health laws of Liberia.”

“When you criminally endanger the lives of others through harmful health practices or otherwise forgery in the health sector that causes the life of an individual, you have violated our public health law, you will be arrested and subsequently prosecuted,” he said.

The minister said there is absolutely no need for anybody who is running a health facility, hospital or clinic to provide to family members of people who have died fake Ebola free certificate.

Jackson also called on Liberians who have lost relatives to the deadly virus to refuse those certificates and help expose those involved in “this unwholesome practice.”
LINA WSG/JGT/PTK