A 68-year-old man was arrested recently for his alleged involvement in a fake marriage in settlement of a debt that he owed by helping a woman obtain a local ID card purportedly for family reunion purposes, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheong Heon Fan said at a regular press conference.
The bogus marriage involves a 50-year-old woman surnamed Su, a mainland resident who got to know the suspect surnamed Ian in a casino in Macau in 2018. Su, who had not yet been issued a Macau ID card (BIR), is on the run in the mainland, according to Cheong.
The male suspect surnamed Ian told the police that he is unemployed.
According to Cheong, the Macau Identification Services Bureau (DSI) referred a suspicious marriage case to the Public Security Police recently, saying that Ian was suspected of involvement in a fake marriage in order to help a woman and her daughter obtain Macau ID cards.
According to Cheong, Ian borrowed 100,000 yuan (121,420 patacas) from the woman and was unable to repay the whole loan. He had paid back 30,000 yuan but was unable to pay the rest so Su came up with the plan that Ian marry her so that she and her daughter could both get Macau ID cards. The two married in the mainland in 2018,
Cheong said police officers went to Ian’s home near the Barrier Gate checkpoint on June 1, and after searching the flat they found no evidence that the two were living together. Under questioning, Ian admitted to the fake marriage. He claimed that he “married” Su so that she and her daughter could obtain local ID cards, and in return, he would not have to settle the remaining 70,000-yuan debt.
Cheong said that when the case was discovered by the police Su and her daughter had not yet obtained their Macau ID cards, but thanks to the fake marriage both had been able to enter Macau on family visit permits.
The case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) where Ian and Su are facing document forgery charges, according to Cheong.
In this undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday, a PSP officer escorts the fake marriage suspect to a police station.
