A female Mainlander was charged at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts with two counts of making false representation to an Immigration Department (ImmD) staff member, and was sentenced to five months' imprisonment yesterday (September 19).
The 62-year-old defendant arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor. During her stay, the defendant submitted an application for extension of stay to the ImmD, and claimed her reason for the extension was to visit her husband in Hong Kong. However, when processing the application, the ImmD found that the defendant's husband had passed away prior to the defendant's arrival.
In the course of the investigation, the defendant admitted under caution that in order to have her extension application approved, she declared upon the extension application to Immigration staff that she was to visit her husband in Hong Kong, even though she clearly knew that her husband had passed away. The defendant was subsequently charged with making false representation to Immigration staff for the reason of extension. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to five months' imprisonment by the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts yesterday.
"Under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who makes false representation to an Immigration officer commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years," an ImmD spokesman said.
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