HK Woman Convicted Over Fake Marriages For Maids

A security guard was on Friday found guilty of running a bogus marriage syndicate that charged foreign domestic helpers tens of thousands of dollars for weddings with local men.

Immigration officials said it was the first gang of its kind they had busted.

The Immigration Department began an operation into the fake marriage syndicate in 2017 and went on to arrest 37 people in total; 22 Hong Kong residents, 13 foreign domestic helpers and two mainlanders.

Their first target was the brains behind the scams, a 55-year-old Hong Kong woman who worked as a security guard.

Officers raided her home and found numerous identity documents used for the bogus marriages, as well as mobile phones containing staged photos of supposed couples.

She was found guilty in the District Court of four counts of conspiracy to defraud and one of perverting the course of justice and is due to be sentenced on February 28.

Of the others arrested, 14 have been convicted of fraud and other charges, with 11 of them jailed for between 10 and 18 months.

Assistant Immigration Director William Fung said the gang took pictures of the fake couples in love hotels to use as proof of their relationships.

They also had secret codes to communicate with their clients, to escape the authorities' attention. For example, talk of "seeing the doctor" would refer to having an interview with an immigration officer.

Fung said the foreign domestic helpers paid between HK$40,000 and HK$150,000 for their marriages, with many of them trying to improve their fortunes.

"The syndicate tried to persuade them that by entering into such a false marriage, they can obtain a dependant visa. By obtaining the dependant visa, you are free to take up any employment in Hong Kong," he said.

Fung said investigations were ongoing and more people may yet be arrested over the scams.