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"Two Hong Kong residents received prison sentences today for the illegal transfer of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports and another Hong Kong resident was jailed for conspiracy to obtain services by deception," said a spokesman for the Immigration Department today (June 27).
The defendant, Cheng Pak- cheong, aged 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of "aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the making of false representation to an Immigration Assistant" and two counts of "conspiracy to obtain services by deception" at the District Court on 27 June. He was sentenced to a total of three years¡Šimprisonment.
The other two defendants, Chan Kwok-keung, aged 39, pleaded guilty to one count of "transfer to another without reasonable excuse a travel document" whereas Li Yat- chung, aged 29, pleaded guilty to one count of "transfer to another without reasonable excuse a travel document" and one count of "theft" at the District Court on 27 June. They were each sentenced to 16 months imprisonment.
Concerning the two Mainlanders (He Wenyou, aged 23, and Chen Kaiyan, aged 16), they were stopped by airline staff as they were about to board a flight heading for Rome at a boarding gate of the Hong Kong International Airport in November 2007 and referred to Immigration investigators for investigation at the scene. Meanwhile, the courier Cheng Pak-cheong, who was found in possession of two HKSAR passports, was caught red-handed by the investigators. Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of another two HK residents who had illegally transferred the HKSAR passports to another.
Under caution, the two Mainlanders admitted to the investigators that they presented for departure clearance with their PRC passports and falsely represented their destination as Thailand. However, they could not explain why they were found holding boarding passes for Rome, which bore the names of others.
Both Mainlanders were each convicted of one count of "making a false representation" and one count of "conspiracy to obtain services by deception". They were sentenced to a total of two years and six months and two years' imprisonment respectively on June 27.
The Immigration Department spokesman warned, "Persons involved in the illegal transfer of any travel document as well as their aiders and abettors are liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. Any person involved in the offence of conspiracy to obtain services by deception and illegal transfer activity of any travel document will receive the same penalty as the principal offenders."
Ends/Friday, June 27, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:31
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