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SINGAPORE – A Singaporean man and a Chinese woman have been sentenced to prison for their participation in a marriage of convenience and for making false statements.
Pang Beng Lee, 46, had arranged the marriage between Qin Fuxing, 34, with whom he had an extramarital affair, and his older brother Beng Hai, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ACI) said on Thursday (11 of March).
Pang received a prison sentence of 12 months and two weeks, while Qin was sentenced to 10 months and two weeks in prison. They were convicted under the Immigration Act.
The charges against Pang’s older brother decreased as he died in April last year.
ICA said in a statement that Pang met Qin when she was living and working in Malaysia in 2013. But they could not get married because Pang was already married and had children at the time.
He then suggested that his older brother marry Qin, which would allow them to apply for subsidized public housing as a married couple. At the time, his brother needed a place to stay after he had transferred ownership of his apartment to his ex-wife, ICA said.
“In this way, Beng Lee could also continue to be with Qin,” the authority added.
Pang’s brother and Qin solemnized their marriage of convenience on September 11, 2017, with Pang as a witness.
Afterwards, Qin managed to extend his stay in Singapore several times with Pang’s brother as his sponsor, ICA said.
During this period, Pang assisted the “couple” in making false statements by stating that they were staying at the same residential address indicated in Qin’s visitor pass application.
ICA did not release details of its investigations, but said its officers arrested the trio at three different residential addresses in Jurong, Hougang and Woodlands on May 31, 2018.
“ICA has a serious view of people trying to circumvent our system by participating or organizing / helping organize MOC (marriages of convenience) to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore,” he added.
“We will spare no effort in investigating such cases and we will search for all available leads.”
The maximum penalty for the crime of marriage of convenience is a fine of up to $ 10,000 and / or imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Those who make false statements to obtain immigration facilities can face a fine of up to $ 4,000 and / or a jail term of up to 12 months.
“We welcome members of the public to report any suspected cases of marriage of convenience, as well as any other immigration-related crime,” ICA said, adding that this can be done through its online report form.
“All information will be treated with the strictest confidentiality,” said the authority.
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