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Four Mainlanders who entered into bogus marriages with Hong Kong residents were today (February 12) given jail sentences ranging from 12 to 16 months after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court.
The first case involved 34-year-old Mainlander Yang Dongxiu who pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representation to an Immigration officer and one count of conspiracy to defraud. Yang was given an effective sentence of 16 months.
Yang was intercepted at the Lowu control point when she was going to leave Hong Kong on October 26, 2006. She later admitted that she had paid 30,000 reminbi to a middleman for arranging bogus marriage with Hong Kong resident so she could acquire a "90-day visit" visa for taking up illegal employment.
Mainland visitor Liang Yijun, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of making false representation to an Immigration officer and one count of conspiracy to defraud. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment on each charge running concurrently.
On January 4, 2007, Liang was stopped at the Lowu control point upon his departure. He admitted to an Immigration investigator that in order to obtain a "90-day visit" visa for job seeking in Hong Kong, he had paid for a bogus marriage with Hong Kong resident at a cost of 20,000 reminbi.
In the third case, Chen Xia, 29, who pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representation to an Immigration officer and one count of conspiracy to defraud was jailed for 16 months.
Chen Xia was arrested during an anti-illegal worker operation on January 16, 2007. She was found to have contracted a bogus marriage with a Hong Kong resident and falsely declared to the Immigration officer on her arrival that she was coming to visit her husband.
Mainland visitor Chen Yu, 26, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representation and one count of conspiracy to defraud. She was given an effective jail term of 16 months.
Chen Yu was also arrested during an anti-illegal worker operation on January 17, 2007. She had paid 23,000 reminbi to a middleman for arranging a bogus marriage with Hong Kong resident so that she could obtain a "90-day visit" visa for working illegally in Hong Kong.
An Immigration spokesman said, "the department had been very concerned about non-Hong Kong residents obtaining the right to stay in Hong Kong by means of bogus marriages. 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 the 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.
It is also an offence to make a false representation to Immigration officers. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalty.
Ends/Monday, February 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:15
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