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A 53-year-old Mainland woman involved in marriage of convenience was jailed after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (April 20).
Chen Xiulian, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud and one count of making false representation to an Immigration Officer and was given an effective sentence of 12 months.
Chen was intercepted at Lo Wu control point on January 8 and subsequently admitted that she had agreed with a middleman to enter into a false marriage with a Hong Kong resident at a cost of HK$5,000. She intended to use the false marriage to acquire a "90-day visit" endorsement to enter Hong Kong for illegal work and eventually for settlement. She married her bogus husband on the Mainland, in June, 2005. Chen came to Hong Kong after the "marriage", falsely declaring to the Immigration control officer that she came to visit her resident husband.
"The Immigration Department has been very concerned with non-Hong Kong residents obtaining stay in Hong Kong by means of marriage of convenience," a department spokesman said. "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 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.
Ends/Friday, April 20, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:06
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