Mainland man caught out in lie about marriage
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    A mainland man involved in marriage of convenience was jailed after appearing in Sha Tin Magistrates' Court today (April 24).

     Li Zhaomin, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, one count of making false representation to an Immigration Officer and one count of misleading a member of the Immigration Service and was given an effective sentence of 14 months.

     Li was intercepted on arrival at Lo Wu control point on April 1 and subsequently admitted that he had agreed with a middleman to enter into a false marriage in May, 2006 with a Hong Kong resident at a cost of 30,000 renminbi. He intended to use the false marriage to acquire a "90-day visit" endorsement to enter Hong Kong for illegal work.  

     Li then made his first visit in last October to Hong Kong after the "marriage", falsely declaring to the Immigration control officer that he came to visit his resident wife.  

     Afraid of being asked about the marriage of convenience he had contracted, Li lied to the Immigration officer in April, saying he was not married and was coming to Hong Kong to visit his mother.
 
     "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.

     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.

     Moreover, anyone who commits the offence of misleading any member of the Immigration Service by making a false statement is liable to prosecution and upon conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.

Ends/Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:51

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