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A Hong Kong resident involved in a marriage of convenience was jailed after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (August 1).
Cheung Wing Kei, 33, pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to defraud and was given an effective sentence of two years.
Cheung was intercepted during an investigation into false marriage cases. He admitted that he had entered into false marriages with two Mainland women – the first in March, 2006, and the second in July, 2006. Cheung said the "marriages" were for money and to facilitate his bogus wives to apply for "90-day visit" endorsements to enter Hong Kong; and eventually for settlement. Cheung also admitted introducing a Hong Kong resident to other middlemen in April and May, 2006, to contract false marriages with two mainland men for quick money.
"The Immigration Department has been very concerned with non-Hong Kong residents obtaining 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 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/Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:56
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