Trio admit human smuggling with boarding pass swap
2001-9-12
A mastermind of a human smuggling syndicate and his associate today (Wednesday) admitted having arranged Mainland residents to enter the United States illegally with forged passports after swapping boarding passes at the Hong Kong International Airport's restricted area.
Ring leader Chan Sung-yuen, 38, who was a company proprietor and Robert Yu, 38, unemployed, pleaded guilty to two conspiracy offences before District Court Judge Day.
Chan admitted having conspired with a Mainland resident, Chen Chongfei, and others to enable Chen to possess a forged US passport in the name of Yu on March 3 this year.
Chan and Yu also admitted a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud the United Airlines (UA) by falsely representing that Chen was Robert Yu and was entitled to board a flight for Chicago with the boarding pass in the name of Yu.
Chen was arrested by the ICAC on March 3 on an airplane before leaving for Chicago with the forged passport and a boarding pass.
He also pleaded guilty today to one count of possessing a false travel document and one of making a false representation to the Immigration Department.
The judge adjourned sentencing of the trio until November 23, 2001, and remanded them in the custody of the Correctional Services Department.
The court heard that Chen travelled to Hong Kong on his People's Republic of China passport and a visitor visa to Malaysia.
At about 6:45 am on March 3, Chen arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport and was given an airplane ticket for Kuala Lumpur by the syndicate. After completing the check-in procedures, Chen proceeded to the departure gate for the flight.
Meanwhile, Yu checked in for a UA flight leaving for Chicago at about 7:30 am. But he did not board the flight and his boarding pass was passed to Chan, who gave him ten US$100 banknotes as a reward.
The court also heard that a third syndicate member, Cheng Hong-shing, also checked in for a flight to Singapore, and met Chen inside the airport's restricted area. Cheng passed an envelope containing Yu's boarding pass to Chen.
Chen subsequently boarded the UA flight for Chicago instead of the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Examinations by the Government Laboratory had confirmed that the US passport recovered from Chen was forged.
Meanwhile, Cheng and two other suspected syndicate members, together with another Mainland resident, have been charged by the ICAC. They will face trial in November.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Stanley Chan, assisted by ICAC officer Petrus Au.
Ring leader Chan Sung-yuen, 38, who was a company proprietor and Robert Yu, 38, unemployed, pleaded guilty to two conspiracy offences before District Court Judge Day.
Chan admitted having conspired with a Mainland resident, Chen Chongfei, and others to enable Chen to possess a forged US passport in the name of Yu on March 3 this year.
Chan and Yu also admitted a joint charge of conspiracy to defraud the United Airlines (UA) by falsely representing that Chen was Robert Yu and was entitled to board a flight for Chicago with the boarding pass in the name of Yu.
Chen was arrested by the ICAC on March 3 on an airplane before leaving for Chicago with the forged passport and a boarding pass.
He also pleaded guilty today to one count of possessing a false travel document and one of making a false representation to the Immigration Department.
The judge adjourned sentencing of the trio until November 23, 2001, and remanded them in the custody of the Correctional Services Department.
The court heard that Chen travelled to Hong Kong on his People's Republic of China passport and a visitor visa to Malaysia.
At about 6:45 am on March 3, Chen arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport and was given an airplane ticket for Kuala Lumpur by the syndicate. After completing the check-in procedures, Chen proceeded to the departure gate for the flight.
Meanwhile, Yu checked in for a UA flight leaving for Chicago at about 7:30 am. But he did not board the flight and his boarding pass was passed to Chan, who gave him ten US$100 banknotes as a reward.
The court also heard that a third syndicate member, Cheng Hong-shing, also checked in for a flight to Singapore, and met Chen inside the airport's restricted area. Cheng passed an envelope containing Yu's boarding pass to Chen.
Chen subsequently boarded the UA flight for Chicago instead of the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Examinations by the Government Laboratory had confirmed that the US passport recovered from Chen was forged.
Meanwhile, Cheng and two other suspected syndicate members, together with another Mainland resident, have been charged by the ICAC. They will face trial in November.
The prosecution was today represented by Senior Government Counsel Stanley Chan, assisted by ICAC officer Petrus Au.