What a press release by ICA

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:




Prologue: True love…seriously?
It was May 2012 when a married Singaporean man was attracted to a female Chinese national and the couple decided to develop their illicit relationship further. Unfortunately, as with many heart-rending love stories, they did not live happily forever as both were married, but not to each other.

Chapter 1: Love knows no boundaries
2. In his bid to keep his beloved Tang Qiu Xia by his side, 41-year-old Fong Chee Keong sought the help of an arranger to facilitate a marriage of convenience (MOC) between the 36-year-old Tang and a 42-year-old Singaporean Indian man, Raymond Roy on 19 June 2012. Outsiders would have thought they must be truly, madly and deeply in love despite the language barrier between the couple. However, oblivious to others, the couple lived separately – Raymond resided in Canberra Road while Tang in Geylang with her friends.

3. Unfortunately, their relationship could not stand the test of time, and definitely could not fool the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. The “matrimony” between Tang and Raymond caught the attention of observant ICA officers when irregularities were found in Tang’s application for a visit pass. On 2 July 2012, Tang submitted a visit pass application under the sponsorship of Raymond. Two days later, on 4 July 2012, Fong had also submitted an application for a long term visit pass (LTVP) for Tang. In Fong’s application, he stated Tang’s residential address as “Canberra Road” and even falsely stated that Tang was pregnant. Raymond and Tang were then scheduled for a follow up appointment with the officers to further assess the application on 26 July 2012 but they failed to show up. As if it was all destined, Tang did not escape the long arms of law when she was subsequently arrested by Police on 2 August 2012 at a road block for overstaying. Much as the trio got entwined in their love web, ICA officers soon unfolded more twists to their story, chapter by chapter…

Chapter 2: Disentangling the web
4. Further investigations by ICA officers led to a Singaporean man, Gordon Koh who was found to have assisted Tang in prolonging her stay in Singapore by abetting her to make false statements in her disembarkation/embarkation (D/E) card in April 2012. The meticulous ICA officers also discovered that Steven Fong, who was also a witness for Tang and Raymond’s marriage, was involved in another MOC with a Chinese national, Zheng Cijun. Apparently, Steven and Zheng registered their marriage on 19 July 2012 but they led separate lives.

5. 41-year-old Gordon was charged and convicted for one count of abetting false statement in Tang’s D/E card. He was sentenced to three weeks’ imprisonment on 2 April 2013. Steven, 40, was charged and convicted for one count of abetting false statement in Zheng’s application for a visit pass. He was sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment on 7 March 2013. Zheng, 37, was charged and convicted for one count of making false statement in her application for a visit pass. She was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment on 6 September 2012.

Epilogue: The final showdown
6. ICA officers’ thorough investigation eventually brought about the successful arrest and conviction of Tang, Raymond and Fong. Tang was charged and convicted on 10 August 2012 for two counts of obtaining a visit pass by making a false statement in her application for a visit pass and D/E card as well as one count for overstaying. Raymond was charged and convicted on 21 August 2012 for one count of obtaining a visit pass for Tang by making a false statement in his application for Tang’s visit pass. Both were sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment on the same day they were convicted. All the offenders were charged and convicted under Section 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133).
7. Fong was charged on 23 August 2012 for one count of abetting Tang and Raymond to make false statements to obtain a visit pass for Tang; one count of abetting Tang to make false statement in her D/E card when they returned to Singapore together after a trip to Thailand; and one count of making a false statement in an attempt to obtain a visit pass for Tang under Section 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133). He pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted for one count of making a false statement in an attempt to obtain a visit pass for Tang. He was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment on 18 July 2013.

8. ICA takes a serious view of individuals trying to circumvent our system by engaging in MOCs to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore. MOC cases have been typically charged under Section 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act where the individuals are charged for making false statements in obtaining immigration facilities. The penalties for the offence are a fine not exceeding $4,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. In 2012, 89 persons were convicted.

9. In August 2012, a specific provision of the Immigration Act, Section 57C, to criminalise MOC was introduced to send a strong deterrent signal and better enable ICA to definitively deal with those who try to abuse the system. This applies to those who have contracted/entered into an MOC or those who have arranged or assisted in arranging such marriages on or after 19 December 2012. The penalties for the offence are a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both. In the first six months of 2013, 139 persons were convicted. Out of these, 43 of them were convicted under the new provision, Section 57C.

10. ICA will not hesitate to take action without fear or favour against those who have submitted their applications under false representations and have their immigration facilities revoked.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
29 August 2013


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