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A Hong Kong resident who arranged fake marriages was jailed for 28 months when he appeared in the District Court today (February 1).
Li Yan-yin, 31, admitted to entering into a bogus marriage with a Mainlander and having arranged for Ngai Pak-keung and two other Hong Kong residents to have fake marriages with three Mainlanders. Li pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to defraud and was given an effective sentence of 28 months.
Ngai Pak-keung, 53, admitted entering into bogus marriages with two Mainlanders. He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud and was given an effective sentence of 18 months.
During a Police investigation into a case in September, 2006, a box of documents, believed to be linked to fake marriages, was seized. The case was transferred to Immigration Department for further investigation.
Ngai and two other Hong Kong residents were arrested for their involvement in bogus marriages in February and March last year. They admitted fake marriages with three Mainlanders Li Yan-yin arranged to help those Mainlanders acquire "90-day visit" endorsements to visit Hong Kong and eventually for settlement.
Li was subsequently arrested and he was found to have been involved in arranging bogus marriages for money since 2005. He placed marriage advertisements in newspapers. Not only did Li arrange fake marriages, he himself entered into bogus marriage with a Mainlander.
The investigation is still on-going.
"The department has been very concerned with non-Hong Kong residents obtaining the right to stay in Hong Kong by means of marriage of convenience," 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 launch prosecution.
"For people who have obtained their residence 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 to defraud is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Friday, February 1, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:39
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