SINGAPORE: Two Singaporean men were sentenced to jail this month for arranging a sham marriage between another Singaporean man and a female Chinese national, the police said in a news release on Wednesday (Aug 19).
Choo Yong Sheng was sentenced to eight months' jail and a fine of S$3,000 in default of 12 days' imprisonment on Aug 4, while Yap Junlian Eddie was jailed for eight months and fined S$2,000 in default of eight days' imprisonment on Aug 12.
AdvertisementAdvertisementChoo was sentenced to another three months in jail for voluntarily causing hurt to police officers in an unrelated dispute case, according to the news release.
Investigations showed Choo was introduced to Zhang Fengyu, a 42-year-old woman from China, in late 2015.
Zhang was a long-term visit pass (LTVP) holder under the “Study Mama” scheme at the time and told Choo she wanted to remain in Singapore after her son completed his education, police revealed.
Choo offered to help Zhang extend her stay in Singapore by arranging a sham marriage with a Singaporean man and asked Zhang for S$18,000 as payment for the arrangements. He received a S$3,000 deposit from Zhang, said police.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMeanwhile, Yap recruited a 44-year-old Singaporean man, Ng Wei Keong Jason, to enter into the sham marriage with Zhang, promising to pay him S$8,000.
The marriage was solemnised on Jul 11, 2016, said police, adding that Zhang paid Yap S$10,000, with the balance of S$5,000 to be paid only after she had successfully obtained an LTVP under the sponsorship of her "Singaporean spouse".
The couple was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers on Mar 16, 2017. Ng was sentenced to six months' jail on Aug 1 that same year, while Zhang was given 3 months' jail on Mar 2, 2018.
Yap and Choo were arrested on Jul 26, 2018 and Jan 30, 2019.
For their offences under the Immigration Act, they could have faced a fine of up to S$10,000, a maximum of 10 years in jail or both.
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