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A Hong Kong courier, who conspired with four Mainland residents to facilitate their journey to Paris from Hong Kong via Singapore, was jailed by the District Court today (January 30).
The 27-year-old male defendant, Lam Wai, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess four forged travel documents and was jailed for 20 months.
The court heard that Immigration investigators intercepted Lam at the Hong Kong International Airport in March, 2006, when he was trying to board a flight to Singapore. Four Mainland residents, two men and two women - Xue Zhangjie, 35, Zhang Dunqin, 33, Ni Meiying, 35, and Zhang Aizhu, 32 - were also intercepted by Immigration investigators before they boarded another flight to Singapore on the same day.
In a luggage search, four forged Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Passports bearing the four Mainland residents' photos were found. The HKSAR passport found in Zhang Dunqin's handbag was in name of Lam.
Forensic examinations revealed that the four HKSAR passports were forgeries.
During investigations, the four Mainland residents could not explain why the forged HKSAR passports were found in their luggage and they were unable to detail their itinerary in Singapore.
The four Mainland residents were each charged with one count of possession of forged travel document. They pleaded guilty in a court appearance on November 16, 2006, and were each sentenced to eight months' jail.
Under the laws of Hong Kong, anyone who possesses a forged travel document commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty will be a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.
Ends/Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:05
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