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Two Hong Kong residents involved in a false marriage case, were jailed after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (June 11).
Winnie Wong Yuk-lan, 32, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud and was given an effective sentence of 15 months. The middleman, in the case, Winnie Wan Lai-wan, 32, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud and was jailed for 15 months.
In an investigation into the marriage of convenience case, Wong admitted that she had entered into false marriages with two Mainland men. The first marriage was on the Mainland on September 7 last year, while the second marriage was in Hong Kong later that same month. Both were for money and to facilitate the bogus husbands to apply for "90-day visa" endorsements to enter Hong Kong for illegal work and eventually for settlement.
Wan admitted introducing Wong to other middlemen in August, 2006, to contract a false marriage with a Mainland resident for quick money.
"The Immigration Department has been very concerned with non-Hong Kong residents obtaining stay in Hong Kong by means of bogus marriage," 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 offenders.
"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 is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Monday, June 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:14
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