Woman, 34, accused of making false statement to obtain Hong Kong study permit granted bail
- Woman is asked to stay at her listed address in Hong Kong, report regularly to Wan Chai Police Station and surrender all her travel documents
A 34-year-old woman accused of making a false statement to obtain a study permit in Hong Kong was granted bail after appearing in court on Saturday.
Xie Qing, a holder of a Chinese permit for travelling to and from the city, is one of two women arrested for allegedly using forged documents and making false representations to immigration officers to obtain a permit to study in the city.
This comes amid a snowballing scandal involving students using fake qualifications to enter the University of Hong Kong’s business school.
A charge sheet available for press inspection said: “In the application for the said entry permit, you [Xie] stated that you studied at the University of California, Berkeley between September 2009 to December 2012.”
Xie appeared before the court with a stern face and was wearing a face mask and a black suit jacket.
When asked by Magistrate Andrew Mok Tze-chung, Xie, assisted by a Mandarin interpreter, said she understood the charges laid against her.
Mok later agreed to release Xie on a HK$500,000 (US$64,000) cash bail, with a friend also providing a sum of HK$1 million as surety.