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A Hong Kong courier was jailed today (December 19) for possessing 11 false passports.
The 50-year-old male defendant, Ma Yuen-chi, pleaded guilty in the District Court in early December to one count of possession of 11 false travel documents and was today sentenced to three years and four months' jail.
The court heard that a Customs & Excise officer at the Hong Kong International Airport found 11 false travel documents in Ma's luggage when Ma arrived from France in June, 2004. Immigration investigators then took over the case.
The defendant admitted that a friend in Spain gave him the false passports - four Japanese passports and seven British National (Overseas) passports. He was asked to take the passports to Shenzhen and someone would meet him there to collect them.
Forensic examinations revealed that the 11 passports were forgeries.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who possesses a false travel document commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction the maximum penalty will be a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Monday, December 19, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:38
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