Four Mainlanders who entered into bogus marriages with Hong Kong residents have been jailed up to 16 months by Sha Tin Magistracy.

The first case involved 34-year-old Yang Dongxiu who pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representations to an Immigration officer and one count of conspiracy to defraud. She was given 16-months jail.

She was intercepted at Lo Wu checkpoint when leaving Hong Kong in October. She later admitted that she paid 30,000 renminbi to a middleman for arranging a marriage with a Hong Kong resident so she could acquire a 90-day visa and work.

Liang Yijun, 47, pleaded guilty to making false representations to an Immigration officer and conspiracy to defraud. He was sentenced to 12 months jail on each charge running concurrently.

On January 4, he was stopped at Lo Wu checkpoint upon his departure. He admitted that to obtain a 90-day visa he had paid 20,000 renminbi for a bogus marriage with a Hong Kong resident.

Chen Xia, 29, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representations to an Immigration officer and one count of conspiracy to defraud and was jailed for 16 months.

Chen was arrested during an anti-illegal worker operation on January 16.  She was found to have contracted a bogus marriage with a Hong Kong resident and falsely declared to an Immigration officer on her arrival that she was coming to visit her husband.

Meanwhile, Chen Yu, 26, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false representations and one count of conspiracy to defraud. She was given a 16-month jail term.

She was arrested during an anti-illegal worker operation on January 17. She had paid 23,000 renminbi to a middleman for arranging a bogus marriage with a Hong Kong resident to obtain a 90-day visa.