We often heard of marriage made in heaven or fairytale marriages that usually end with “happily ever after”s. This is a twisted tale of a couple who thought they could be ‘happy ever after’ by engaging in a marriage of convenience (MOC) in order to gain immigration facilities. Unfortunately for them, officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) are relentless in their pursuit to uncover ‘couples’ who try their hands at fake marriages.

 

2.         31-year-old Vietnamese, Tran Thi Kim Phuong met a Singaporean male in 2009 while on holiday in Singapore and they fell in love. However, he was already married. Between 2009 and 2011, Tran has been travelling to Singapore to be with him.    

 

3.         Desperate to stay in Singapore to be with the married Singaporean, Tran agreed to enter into a MOC with a 47-year-old Singaporean man, Theong Peng Nyuk. He was promised a sum of S$5,000 and S$300 for every successful visit pass extension he helped to sponsor. The couple subsequently “registered” their marriage on 31 January 2013. They went their separate ways after the solemnisation. The couple would only meet up at ICA Building when Tran Thi Kim Phuong needed to extend her Visit Pass.

 

4.         Unknown to them, the ICA officers had been keeping a close watch on them. Tran Thi Kim Phuong and Theong Peng Nyuk were arrested by ICA officers on 22 March 2013.

 

5.         MOC cases have so far been charged under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA where the individuals are charged for making false statements in obtaining immigration facilities. The penalties for the offence are a fine not exceeding S$4,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. To send a strong deterrent message to individuals who are thinking of entering into a marriage of convenience for the purpose of obtaining an immigration facility, the IA was amended and a new Section 57C has been introduced which allows ICA to prosecute errant couples, middlemen, or marriage agencies involved in marriages which are entered into, for the purpose of illegally obtaining an immigration advantage, and applies to marriages registered on or after 19 Dec 2012. This will include the grant of visas, visit passes, long-term passes and permanent residence. The penalties for the offence are a fine not exceeding S$10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both. 

6.         This is the first case to be prosecuted under the new Section 57C. Both Tran and Theong were charged for two counts of making false statements to obtain a Visit Pass, an offence under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA and one count of entering into a marriage of convenience, an offence under Section 57C(1) of the IA. Tran was also charged for making false declaration in her Disembarkation/Embarkation (D/E) card, an offence under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA. Both Tran and Theong were convicted on 23 May 2013 and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

7.         ICA takes a serious view of individuals trying to deceive and circumvent existing immigration rules and requirements by engaging in MOCs to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore.  ICA will not hesitate to take action against those who have submitted their applications under false representations and have their immigration facilities revoked.  We have also included two other MOC cases recently uncovered by ICA in Annex A. 

 

 

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY

23 May 2013

  

Annex A

 A Tale of Two ‘Marriages’ on the Rocks

            21-year-old Le Thi Ai Ngoc wanted to remain in Singapore to earn more money to support her family in Vietnam. She was subsequently introduced to 43-year-old Abu Bakar Bin Sumon, a single Singaporean man, to enter into MOC in order to prolong her stay in Singapore.

 

2.         Abu Bakar would be paid S$2,500 for the MOC.  In exchange,   he would have to sponsor Le This Ai Ngoc’s applications to extend her Visit Pass.  She would indicate his address as her place of residence in her Visit Pass application forms and Disembarkation/Embarkation (D/E) cards, even though she did not stay there. For every successful transaction, Abu Bakar would be paid between S$200 to S$300.

 

3.         The couple subsequently “registered” their marriage on 13 April 2012 and went their separate ways after the solemnisation. The couple would only meet at the ICA Building when Le Thi Ai Ngoc needed to extend her Visit Pass. The couple thought that they had a perfect plan but they did not realise that ICA officers were already keeping a close watch on them.

 

4.         Abu Bakar Bin Sumon and Le Thi Ai Ngoc were arrested by ICA officers on 19 December 2012. Abu Bakar was charged with five counts of making false statements in Le Thi Ai Ngoc’s Visit Pass application forms under Sec 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act (IA).  He was convicted on 31 December 2012 and sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment.  Le Thi Ai Ngoc was charged with five counts of making false statements in her Visit Pass application forms and another five counts of making false statements in her (D/E) cards under Sec 57(1)(k) of the IA.  She was convicted on 28 December 2012 and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment.

 

5.         This ‘love story’ did not end here. Arising from the investigations of Abu Bakar and Le Thi Ai Ngoc, vigilant ICA officers unraveled another MOC, leaving no stones unturned.

 

6.         Syed Ali, a friend of Abu Bakar, is a 43-year-old Singaporean who is a general worker. Syed Ali, a divorcee, was introduced to Le Thi Net, a 36-year-old Vietnamese manicurist in June 2011. Le Thi Net wanted to prolong her stay in Singapore to earn more money and support her family back home. On 25 July 2011, Syed Ali ‘married’ Le Thi Net and only met up when the latter needed to extend her Visit Pass. Le Thi Net would indicate Syed Ali’s address as her place of residence in her application forms even though they did not stay together. For each successful application, Syed Ali was paid S$300.

 

7.         Le Thi Net was arrested by the ICA officers at Changi Airport when she tried to depart Singapore on 18 March 2013. Subsequently, Syed Ali was also placed under arrest on 4 April 2013.             

 

8.         Syed Ali Bin Syed Zain was charged with four counts of making false statements in Le Thi Net’s Visit Pass application forms under Sec 57(1)(k) of the IA.  He was convicted on 12 April 2013 and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment.  Le Thi Net was charged with seven counts of making false statements in her Visit Pass application forms under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA and one count for overstaying under Section 15(3)(a) of the IA.  She was convicted on 30 March 2013 and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment and fine of S$1,000 in default of one week’s imprisonment.