By ‘recruiting’ wedding co-ordinators, syndicate in Hong Kong lures young women to bogus marriages
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has cracked down on a syndicate which arranged bogus marriages for people seeking the right to live in the city, arresting almost 50 people in the course of the operation.
The department, in a Wednesday press release, said 15 men and 34 women, aged 25 to 50, had been arrested. They including a man aged 29 who was held on Wednesday and described as the mastermind of the operation. Thirty-five of them were Hong Kong residents and 14 were non-local.
Authorities said the syndicate lured Hongkongers seeking jobs into bogus marriages on the mainland under the pretext of providing training and internship opportunities for them.
It recruited its fake brides by advertising on social media for “wedding co-ordinators” or “wedding assistants.” After the “marriages,” mainlanders could travel to Hong Kong on the pretence of visiting spouses and even apply for residency.
Members of the syndicate would also develop romantic relationships with young women through an online dating platform and later lure them into bogus marriages, the Immigration Department said.
Over 40 bogus marriages
The department said the syndicate was believed to have arranged more than 40 fake marriages between 2017 and 2019, raising about HK$5 million. It said the investigation was continuing and there might be more arrests.
“For people who have obtained their residence in Hong Kong by fraudulent means, their Hong Kong identity card and residence status will be invalidated according to the laws of Hong Kong. They will also be subject to removal back to their place of origin,” said the statement.
Anyone who makes false representations to Immigration Officers is liable to a maximum fine of HK$150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.
Making a false oath for the purpose of a certificate for marriage is punishable by up to seven years and a fine. Conspiracy to defraud is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
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