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A Hong Kong resident has been jailed for conspiring to be the husband of a Mainlander and posing as the natural father of a minor in a birth registration.
The 45-year-old defendant, Sung Wai-lok, pleaded guilty at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (June 2) to two counts of conspiracy to defraud. He was jailed for six months on each charge, but three months of the sentence for the second charge will run concurrently with the first, making a total of nine months' imprisonment.
The defendant was married with a son on the Mainland. In 1990, he registered another marriage with his employer's mistress to facilitate the household registration of his boss' illegitimate son on the Mainland.
In 1994, the mistress of his boss got pregnant again. She overstayed in Hong Kong for confinement. Upon his boss' request, the defendant posed as the woman's husband again to obtain recognisance for her. The woman was subsequently granted recognisance and gave birth to a child in Hong Kong. The defendant was further requested to pose as the baby's natural father in the birth registration.
Investigations are continuing.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who commits the offence of conspiracy to defraud is liable to prosecution and upon conviction, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Friday, June 2, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:55
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