A Taiwanese businessman who tried to smuggle 10 Venezuelan passports through Kai Tak airport to sell on the mainland was jailed for four years yesterday. Liu Chien-hong claimed he was roped in to act as a middleman to earn money to support his family after his business failed. He admitted using a forged travel document, making a false statement, possession of implements adapted for making a false instrument, and possession of unlawfully obtained passports. Liu, 32, had followed his family from Taiwan to the Dominican Republic in 1979, lawyer James McGowan told the District Court. He graduated and moved to Venezuela, where he married and had three children. But his seafood business failed and he had debts of US$55,000 (HK$425,000). Liu was approached by a Venezuelan official, Nelson Barreto, who had access to the passports and chops, and was asked to sell the documents to mainland customers, the court heard. On August 11 Liu was stopped at Kai Tak when he used a forged Dominican Republic passport to enter the territory. He also made a false claim on the passport and the arrival card that his place of birth was Santa Domingo. The police found 10 Venezuelan passports in his possession, six of them blank. Judge Clare Beeson gave credit for his guilty plea, previous good record and family situation.
