Mar 13, 2007, 12:27 GMT
Hong Kong - A Chinese woman was Tuesday jailed for two years for going through a bogus marriage to a Hong Kong man so that she could seek work in the wealthy former British colony.
Huang Shaoyu, 39, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of making false representations to immigration officers in a hearing at the city's Shatin court.
Huang, arrested in December 2006, admitted paying 15,000 Hong Kong dollars (1,900 US dollars) to marry a Hong Kong man last year in order to obtain a 90-day visa extension allowing her to seek work.
She made repeated visits to the city of 6.9 million after the marriage, telling immigration officers she was coming to Hong Kong to visit her husband, the court was told.
Her conviction follows a series of recent cases in which men from mainland China have been arrested after paying to marry Hong Kong women in order to get residency rights.
Since January, three men have been jailed for periods ranging from 15 to 30 months for paying thousands of US dollars each to middle men to arrange bogus marriages with Hong Kong women.
After Tuesday's hearing, an immigration department spokesman said the agency was 'very concerned with non-residents obtaining stay in Hong Kong by means of bogus marriage'.
'A special task force has been set up to gather intelligence through various avenues and a thorough investigation will be conducted once evidence comes to light,' the spokesman said. 'If there is enough evidence, the department will prosecute offenders.'
The maximum jail term for a bogus marriage is 14 years in Hong Kong, which has maintained economic autonomy and strict border controls with China since reverting to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong is currently also taking action to stop pregnant women sneaking across the border from China to give birth so that their children qualify for residency and free schooling.
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