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A Mainland woman, who faked her marriage to a Hong Kong resident, was jailed for 12 months after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (February 28).
Pan Shaokai, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud and one count of making a false representation to an Immigration officer.
Pan was intercepted by an Immigration officer on February 4, 2007, when she tried to leave for the Mainland. She was suspected of having entered into a bogus marriage and was detained for further investigation.
Pan admitted she had agreed with a middleman to enter into a bogus marriage with a Hong Kong resident at a cost of 26,000 renminbi. She intended to use the bogus marriage to acquire a "90-day visa" endorsement to seek work in Hong Kong. In September, 2006, Pan married her bogus husband on the Mainland.
After the bogus marriage, Pan arrived in Hong Kong and declared to an Immigration officer that she came to visit her resident husband.
"The department has been very concerned with non-Hong Kong residents obtaining the right to stay in Hong Kong by means of bogus marriages," a department spokesman said. "A special task force has been set up to gather intelligence through various avenues and a thorough investigation will be conducted once evidence comes to light. If there is enough evidence, the department will prosecute the offenders.
"For people who have obtained their residency in Hong Kong by fraudulent means, their Hong Kong identity card and residence status will be declared invalid according to the laws of Hong Kong. They will also be subject to removal back to their place of origin," the spokesman said.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who commits the offence of conspiracy is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years.
It is also an offence to make a false representation to Immigration officers. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalty.
Ends/Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:07
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