A local man and a mainland woman who married last year were taken last week to a police station for questioning about their alleged sham marriage, Public Security Police (PSP) spokeswoman Cheong Im Sim said yesterday.
The 31-year-old male suspect surnamed Leong told the police that he’s jobless, while the 29-year-old female suspect surnamed Zhang is a masseuse.
According to Cheong, Zhang was arrested earlier this month for working illegally as a masseuse at a Cotai entertainment venue. During the investigation, police uncovered suspicious details about her marital status, as she and Leong had never cohabited as a married couple. Consequently, both were summoned to a police station for questioning last week.
Under questioning, both confessed to the crime. Zhang told the police that she had paid a middleman 60,000 yuan to facilitate a fake marriage to Leong. The purpose of this arrangement was to obtain a family visit permit and engage in illegal work in Macau. The suspects registered their marriage in the mainland last February, and Leong received HK$15,000 from the middleman for the sham marriage.
The duo have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of making false statements to the authorities, Cheong said.
This undated handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows police officers escorting the two sham marriage suspects to a police station for questioning.
