A 41-year-old man has been jailed four months for using false Certificates of Absence of Marriage Record and making a false statement on oath.

Wong Shiu-kei today pleaded guilty to one count of using false instruments and one count of making a false statement.

He intended to use the fake document to solemnise his marriage on the Mainland. Records show he married in Hong Kong in 1997 and divorced in 2000. On September 9, 2003, he approached a Hong Kong law firm with a false certificate to make a statutory declaration, in the presence of a solicitor, that he had never married.

With the written declaration and the false certificate, he went to the China Legal Service (HK) for certification. The Immigration Department took over the case after China Legal Service staff queried the authenticity of the certificate.