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A 49-year-old Hong Kong resident was jailed for 20 months for possessing 10 false Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports and nine false Japanese passports, an Immigration spokesman said today (September 22).
Howard Wong Kwok-kuen pleaded guilty in the District Court to one count of possession of false documents.
In July, immigration investigators took over the case from Custom officers who found the 19 suspected false travel documents in the defendant's suitcase at the check-in counter of the Hong Kong International Airport.
Wong said he was asked by a friend in Shenzhen to bring the passports to France to someone for a reward of US$200 and air tickets.
Subsequent forensic examinations confirmed that the inner front and back covers of all 19 passports had been replaced.
"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," the spokesman said.
Ends/Thursday, September 22, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:05
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