ICAC charges 11 people over alleged bogus marriages with Mainlanders
2002-2-19
The ICAC has charged 11 persons for allegedly arranging bogus marriages between Hong Kong residents and residents from Fujian Province of the Mainland.
Eight of them, who were charged yesterday (Monday), were Kitty Chu Sau-kwan, 36, unemployed; Leung Wing-yeung, 32, unemployed; Yeung Hau-wan, 39, housewife; Wong Lok-yan, 21, nightclub hostess; Ngai Lok-yu, 42, unemployed; Lam Tak-choi, 53, unemployed; Ng Chi-keung, 46, unemployed; and Sum Wan-ching, 60, security guard.
Chan Pui-ching, 28, unemployed; Chiu Yiu-bun, 46, and Fok Chi-hung, 47, who are serving prison sentences for separate offences, had earlier been charged in relation to the same case.
All the 11 defendants will appear in Kowloon City Court at 9:30 am tomorrow (Wednesday) on a total of 10 conspiracy to defraud offences, which took place between January 1995 and July 2001.
The case originated from allegations that bogus marriages were arranged with the corrupt assistance of employees from solicitors' firms, who were required to process the relevant legal documentation before submitting to China Legal Service (HK) Ltd. (Chin a Legal Service) for verification. Subsequent ICAC enquiries uncovered the alleged scam.
One of the charges alleged that Chu and Leung had conspired with other persons to defraud China Legal Service by falsely representing that Leung intended to marry a Mainland resident.
China Legal Service is a semi-official Mainland organisation in Hong Kong, which handles applications for marriages with Mainlanders for onward transmission to the Mainland authorities.
Chu, Yeung and Wong were alleged to have conspired with other persons to defraud China Legal Service by falsely representing that Wong intended to marry another Mainland resident.
Lam, Ng, Sum, Chan, Chiu and Fok each faced a separate conspiracy charge of similar nature.
Chu and Ngai were also jointly charged with conspiring to defraud the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance by falsely representing that Chu paid a monthly rental of $2,800 for renting a flat, thus causing SWD to pay Chu a total of rent allowance of $16,800.
The remaining charge alleged that Chu and Leung had conspired to defraud SWD by falsely representing that Chu paid a monthly rental of $3,000 to Leung for renting another flat, thus causing SWD to pay Chu rent allowance totalling $25,645.10.
All the defendants, except Chiu and Fok who are serving prisoners, have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearances tomorrow.
Eight of them, who were charged yesterday (Monday), were Kitty Chu Sau-kwan, 36, unemployed; Leung Wing-yeung, 32, unemployed; Yeung Hau-wan, 39, housewife; Wong Lok-yan, 21, nightclub hostess; Ngai Lok-yu, 42, unemployed; Lam Tak-choi, 53, unemployed; Ng Chi-keung, 46, unemployed; and Sum Wan-ching, 60, security guard.
Chan Pui-ching, 28, unemployed; Chiu Yiu-bun, 46, and Fok Chi-hung, 47, who are serving prison sentences for separate offences, had earlier been charged in relation to the same case.
All the 11 defendants will appear in Kowloon City Court at 9:30 am tomorrow (Wednesday) on a total of 10 conspiracy to defraud offences, which took place between January 1995 and July 2001.
The case originated from allegations that bogus marriages were arranged with the corrupt assistance of employees from solicitors' firms, who were required to process the relevant legal documentation before submitting to China Legal Service (HK) Ltd. (Chin a Legal Service) for verification. Subsequent ICAC enquiries uncovered the alleged scam.
One of the charges alleged that Chu and Leung had conspired with other persons to defraud China Legal Service by falsely representing that Leung intended to marry a Mainland resident.
China Legal Service is a semi-official Mainland organisation in Hong Kong, which handles applications for marriages with Mainlanders for onward transmission to the Mainland authorities.
Chu, Yeung and Wong were alleged to have conspired with other persons to defraud China Legal Service by falsely representing that Wong intended to marry another Mainland resident.
Lam, Ng, Sum, Chan, Chiu and Fok each faced a separate conspiracy charge of similar nature.
Chu and Ngai were also jointly charged with conspiring to defraud the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance by falsely representing that Chu paid a monthly rental of $2,800 for renting a flat, thus causing SWD to pay Chu a total of rent allowance of $16,800.
The remaining charge alleged that Chu and Leung had conspired to defraud SWD by falsely representing that Chu paid a monthly rental of $3,000 to Leung for renting another flat, thus causing SWD to pay Chu rent allowance totalling $25,645.10.
All the defendants, except Chiu and Fok who are serving prisoners, have been released on ICAC bail, pending their court appearances tomorrow.