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A Hong Kong resident who acted as a check-in facilitator for a Mainland visitor was jailed for 16 months after appearing in the District Court today (May 30).
The 42-year-old male defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain services by deception. The Mainland visitor had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a forged travel document and one count of making false representation to an Immigration Assistant. He was jailed for nine months.
In March 2009, the Mainlander was intercepted by Hong Kong Immigration investigators while waiting to board a flight to Canada. He was found to be using a forged Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passport and a boarding pass in the name of the defendant.
The HKSAR passport was confirmed as a forgery after forensic examination.
The defendant was subsequently located for questioning. He admitted that he had accepted a $4,000 offer from a middleman as monetary reward for going to the airport, procuring a boarding pass and transferring the boarding pass to the middleman. He was aware that the boarding pass would be used by a Mainlander to board a flight.
"Under the Theft Ordinance, people who, by any deception, dishonestly obtain services from another shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for 10 years." An immigration spokesman said.
The spokesman warned that under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who uses a false travel document commits an offence. It is also an offence to make false representation to immigration officers. 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, May 30, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:23
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