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A Hong Kong resident who acted as a boarding pass swapper for a Mainland visitor was jailed for 12 months, the Immigration Department said today (January 29).
The 42-year-old male defendant, Tang Ho-Tin, appeared at the Shatin Magistracy today and was convicted on a count of conspiracy to defraud.
The court heard that a Mainlander intended to board a flight for Toronto by using a forged Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport, a forged HKSAR identity card (IC) and the relevant boarding pass on May 29, 2007. All the documents were in the name of Tang Ho-Tin. As it was suspected that the Mainlander's HKSAR passport and IC were forged, Immigration investigators detained the Mainlander for investigation.
On June 14, 2007, Tang was located by the Immigration investigators. Under caution, Tang claimed that he had lost his HKSAR passport. He denied having been to the Hong Kong International Airport on May 29, 2007.
Despite Tang's denial, circumstantial evidence and a witness proved that he had visited the airport on May 29, 2007. Forensic examination also confirmed that the passport and IC were forged.
Under the Crime Ordinance, a person convicted of the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud shall be liable to imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:17
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