Immigration officials in Hong Kong are investigating 500 suspicious marriages after they busted a ring that charged mainland residents up to HK$35,000 ($4,515) a piece to find a bogus spouse.

Immigration department officials said the syndicate raked in about HK$5 million by helping mainlanders move illegally to Hong Kong through sham marriages, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

They charged clients on the Chinese mainland between HK$25,000-35,000 and pay between HK$5,000 -10,000 to Hong Kong residents willing to take part in the scams.

In several operations including one on September 17, investigators arrested 32 people, including six key members of the marriage syndicate and 26 suspected of being falsely married. However, the mastermind and several others linked to the scam remain at large.

Investigators also raided 17 sites including the syndicate's Shan Shui Po base. They seized two computers filled with data, loads of marriage registration instruments and advertisement receipts.

A spokesman at the department said the syndicate's operations first came to light last year when officers investigated a case involving mainlanders who used fake passports to enter Hong Kong. They learned that a syndicate arranged bogus marriages between Hong Kong residents and mainlanders.

According to Sham Kin-fai, the chief immigration officer, the syndicate advertised match-making services in newspapers in which they promised fast cash.

Hong Kong men under 30 who were willing to marry a mainlander received between HK$5,000-7,000 and those above 40 received HK$10,000.

Hong Kong women were paid between HK$12,000- 17,000, and those between 21 and 30 received HK$16,000 -HK$17,000.

The syndicate has been in operation since 2006 and allegedly reaped HK$5 million by arranging 500 fake marriages.

Mainlanders who paid the syndicate usually wanted to go to Hong Kong to find work or obtain Hong Kong permanent residency, Sham said.

"Most of them have poor education and could hardly find decent jobs," Au Cherry, a Hong Kong woman, told the Global Times.

She said although they make contributions to the local economy by doing jobs Hong Kong residents are unwilling to do, such as working as cleaners, dishwashers and delivery workers, their poor education and lack of skills prevent them from doing better.

"They will ultimately pose a burden to the local government," Au said.

Lawyers said that although the intentions of "false couples" were condemnable, in reality it is challenging to prove fraud.

"As long as the couple is eligible to get married and have completed the marriage registration procedures, their marriage is protected by law," said Zhu Yunde, a lawyer in neighboring Guangdong Province.
However, Sham warned people not to get involved in bogus marriages.

Under Hong Kong law, anyone who commits the offense of conspiracy to the immigration department or makes a false statement is liable to prosecution and upon conviction, a maximum imprisonment for 14 years, he said.

People found to obtain Hong Kong residency illegally could be repatriated to their place of origin, he added.

Huang Jingjing contributed to this story

Source: Global Times