Middleman helped mainland women seek work in HK A man who arranged 12 bogus marriages to help mainlanders come to Hong Kong and look for work was jailed for 28 months yesterday. The prosecution of middleman Dai Chun-yin, 48, involved the largest number of fake marriages of any such case in Hong Kong, the Immigration Department said. Dai, a draftsman, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of conspiracy involving 12 marriages arranged between November 2005 and November last year. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting mainland woman Deng Qiuying to make a false representation to an immigration officer by claiming she was visiting Hong Kong to see her husband, Lam Chi-kit - which was later confirmed to be a false name. Dai also admitted a charge of perverting justice, by instructing bogus husband Ku Kee-chun not to admit to immigration officers that he had been paid to enter into a false marriage with a mainlander. District Court Deputy Judge Anthony Yuen Wai-ming also jailed Ku for eight months on one count of conspiracy in relation to his bogus marriage. 'No doubt these are very serious offences. The purpose of the whole scheme is to bring in illegal immigrants in the disguise of bogus marriage,' Judge Yuen said. The court heard that Deng, who did not appear in court, had indicated to the prosecution she intended to plead not guilty to charges against her and would be tried in the District Court in May. The court was told Dai recruited Hong Kong residents for the bogus marriages by placing advertisements in local newspapers to attract people who wanted to earn quick money. Senior government counsel Polly Wan Shuk-fong said Dai was rewarded HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 for each bogus marriage he successfully arranged, while Ku was given HK$5,000 after a false marriage with Deng in about November 2005. The offence came to light after Deng was questioned at an immigration checkpoint on November 7 last year, the court heard. Deng, a two-way permit holder, had allegedly produced a forged declaration of marriage to immigration officers in a bid to get into Hong Kong to visit 'Lam Chi-kit'. But when officers checked her details, Ku was found to be the registered owner of the mobile phone Deng claimed was her husband's. Investigations later revealed Dai was the actual user of the phone and had arranged a false marriage for Deng so she could come to Hong Kong. The court heard that Deng had paid Dai HK$24,000.
