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A Singaporean visitor was jailed for helping three Mainland residents try to board a flight to the US by using forged travel documents.
Appearing in the District Court today (January 10). The 45-year-old Singaporean woman, Tan Bee-hoon, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to obtain service by deception. She was sentenced to an effective jail term of 24 months.
Mainland woman Lin Xiuhong (29) and two Mainland men - 21-year-old Chen Zhijian and 18-year-old Gao Chaoqin pleaded guilty to their charges of possessing false travel documents and attempting to obtain services by deception. They were each sentenced to an effective jail term of 12 months.
In September 2006, the three Mainland residents were intercepted by Immigration investigators at the airport when they were trying to board a flight for the US. Upon interrogation, all three admitted that they had used Mainland travel documents for entry into Hong Kong and were trying to use forged Singaporean passports for travel to the US. The Singaporean passports were later confirmed to be forgeries upon forensic examination.
Tan was intercepted by the Immigration investigators on the same day. The personal particulars shown in her travel document were found to be the same as those in one of the forged Singaporean passports held by the Mainland residents. She was suspected of being the boarding pass facilitator for them. She later admitted that, for monetary reward, she had provided her personal particulars to a middleman and agreed to check in for a flight to the US in Singapore. She was instructed to leave the boarding pass somewhere upon her arrival in Hong Kong.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who possesses a forged travel document is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty will be a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.
Under the Theft Ordinance, people who, by any deception, dishonestly obtain services from another are guilty of an offence and are liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for 10 years.
Ends/Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Issued at HKT 20:21
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