The Public Security Police (PSP) busted on Tuesday a sham marriage scam, in which a mainland man had paid an “intermediary” 30,000 yuan as a “referral fee” and about 74,000 yuan to his “wife”, in order to obtain an “Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao” (EEP) with an “endorsement for visiting relatives” to make it more convenient for him to enter and exit Macau, PSP spokesman Lei Chan Hong said at a regular press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the male suspect as a businessman in his fifties surnamed Yan, the “intermediary” as a local woman in her forties surnamed Cheang, and a local woman in her fifties surnamed Tang as the “wife” in the marriage of convenience.
The Judiciary Police transferred Yan to the Public Security Police on Monday for his involvement in a separate fraud case, Lei said, adding that when PSP officers were questioning Yan, they discovered that he knew nothing about his wife’s lifestyle and her work, they suspected then that he was involved in a sham marriage.
According to Lei, the Public Security Police summoned the two female suspects to a police station the next day for questioning, during which Tang denied the sham marriage, while Cheang confessed to the crime.
Under questioning, Lei noted, Yan told the police that he had met Cheang online and asked her if she had a way to make it more convenient for him to enter and exist Macau and, therefore, Cheang introduced him to her friend Tang. Yan added that he married Tang in April last year in the mainland.
The Public Security Police have transferred the trio to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation, where they face document forgery charges.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the sham marriage trio to a police station.
