Three men and two women were arrested on Friday in various locations in the northern district for their alleged involvement in two bogus marriage cases, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Cheong Heon Fan said at a regular press conference yesterday.
The five suspects are a 54-year-old local woman surnamed Leong who told the police that she works as a cleaner for the Fire Services Bureau (CB), while her ex-husband a 63-year-old local man surnamed Lei told the police that he works as a cleaner for the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM). The couple divorced in early 2015.
The other three suspects are two men and a woman who are non-resident workers from the mainland. A 49-year-old man surnamed Shi told the police that he works as a renovation worker. A 36-year-old man surnamed Li and his 36-year-old ex-wife surnamed Lin told the police that they work as cleaners. They divorced in early 2016 and Lin is Lei’s cousin.
According to Cheong, the Identification Services Bureau (DSI) recently found two cases suspicious while processing the respective marriage registration applications and asked the police to investigate. PSP officers went to the five suspects’ homes and workplaces in the northern district to investigate. The officers discovered that the information provided by the suspects about their daily life and relationships were confusing and unclear and suspected that they were involved in sham marriages. The suspects were taken to a police station for questioning.
After questioning the quintet, the police discovered that Lin and Li divorced in early 2016, and Lin married her cousin, Lei, in mid-2016. Lin and Li have a 3-year-old son. Lin confessed that she gave Lei HK$200,000 to assist her in obtaining Macau residency status through a fake marriage and also by pretending to be the father of her son, according to Cheong.
Cheong added that the local female suspect Leong married Shi in mid-2015 after she divorced Lei in early 2015. Shi told the police that he gave Leong HK$200,000 for the sham marriage so that he could acquire Macau residency status.
The suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Saturday for follow-up investigations. Leong, Lei, Lin and Shi face document forgery charges, while Li faces an accessory charge.
This handout photo provided by the Public Security Police (PSP) yesterday shows PSP officers escorting the five sham marriage suspects to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) in Nape on Saturday.
