A 52-year-old male Mainland visitor has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment after being convicted of two counts of making false representations to an Immigration Department (ImmD) staff member. The sentence was handed down at the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts today.
On 2nd August, 2023, the defendant arrived in Hong Kong at the Lo Wu Control Point and falsely claimed to an Immigration Officer that he was in transit to Bangkok, Thailand. He presented his People’s Republic of China passport and an electronic air ticket showing that he was departing the following day and was granted entry to Hong Kong. However, when he attempted to depart for Macao on the same day at the Macau Ferry Terminal Control Point, he was intercepted for further examination. Once again, he falsely claimed that he would return to Hong Kong and depart for Thailand the following day after his trip to Macao. After further investigation, he admitted that his actual purpose of visit was solely to visit Macao.
The defendant was charged with two counts of making false representations to an Immigration Officer and pleaded guilty in court. As a result, he was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for each offence, with part of the sentence to run consecutively, making a total of nine months’ imprisonment.
The ImmD spokesman warned that making false representations to an Immigration Officer is an offence under the laws of Hong Kong. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years.
