19 March 2012
A female Mainland visitor was convicted of one count of being in possession of false instrument and one count of making false representation to an immigration officer at Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (March 19). The woman was sentenced to two months' imprisonment for the first charge and four months' for the second, one month of which would run consecutively, making a total five months' imprisonment.
On March 16, 2012, the 25-year-old defendant presented her People's Republic of China passport to an immigration officer for arrival clearance at Lo Wu Control Point. During further examination, the defendant admitted that she had come to Hong Kong on March 20, 2011 on the strength of using her passport to transit to Indonesia. However, she cancelled her intended trip to Indonesia and returned to the Mainland the following day. As a consequence, her passport was marked for future reference. The defendant further admitted that on April 18, 2011, she intended to visit Hong Kong for sightseeing. However, as she was unable to apply for Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao with relevant exit endorsement, she then purchased an air ticket to Indonesia and presented the air ticket and passport for arrival clearance at Lo Wu Control Point, falsely representing that she intended to transit Hong Kong to Indonesia. She returned to the Mainland on April 20, 2011 without going to Indonesia. Investigation also revealed that she had erased the reference mark in order to conceal her adverse record.
"Under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who makes false representation to immigration officers commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. Being in possession of false instrument is also a serious offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment," an Immigration Department spokesman said.