More convicted over sham marriages
Theresa Tan
The Sunday Times
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013
SINGAPORE - Immigration authorities are cracking down on those involved in sham marriages, with 139 people convicted in court in the first half of this year.
This is a sharp jump from the 89 people dealt with in court for the whole of last year, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) told The Sunday Times.
The increase follows stepped-up enforcement by the ICA against marriages of convenience, where a Singaporean marries a foreigner to enable the latter to enter or remain in Singapore. Middlemen who arrange such unions were also among those convicted.
Last August, it became a criminal offence to arrange or enter into a sham marriage. The new law was passed as more immigration offenders were found to be entering into sham marriages.
There were an average of four or five cases each year from 2007 to 2011, Second Minister for Home Affairs S. Iswaran told Parliament last August.
The Sunday Times understands that women entering into such marriages are usually from China and Vietnam, and they marry Singaporeans to extend their stays here.
They often come as tourists, but want to find work here.
Some find their "husbands" on their own, while others go through middlemen, who include Singaporeans and foreigners.
The women pay the middlemen, who in turn pay the bogus Singaporean bridegrooms. The men - mostly manual workers or jobless - are often paid between $2,000 and $5,000 for their part in the scam.
On top of that sum, some men also receive a few hundred dollars more for each visa extension obtained after the marriage is registered.
The couples in these marriages usually live apart and no sex is involved.
The ICA did not say how it detects the fraud but said it does detailed background checks and investigates before acting.
It works closely with the Manpower Ministry, Ministry of Social and Family Development, and Registry of Marriages to investigate such cases.
Its spokesman said that it took a tough stance on sham marriages, but remained "mindful of the diverse cultural practices and the highly personal nature of marriage".
Under the new law, those found guilty face up to 10 years' jail or a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Before the law was passed, those suspected of being involved in a sham marriage could only be charged with giving false information to the authorities, which carried a much lighter penalty of a jail term of up to a year, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.
Criminal lawyer Josephus Tan noted that sham marriages have been going on for years and syndicates are often involved as it's "big business".
Mr Tan, who has handled some of these cases, said many of the women are involved in the vice trade and can easily earn upwards of $500 a night here.
Others hope to find legitimate work, such as restaurant jobs. And there are those eager to find a real husband.
Mr Tan said he has a Vietnamese client in her 20s who felt she needed more time than her tourist visa allowed to find a good Singaporean man to marry.
To extend her stay, she agreed to go through a sham marriage and paid a Singaporean less than $1,000.
"The irony is that she had a fake marriage in order to find a real one," he said.
Lawyer Hri Kumar Nair, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, welcomed the crackdown on sham marriages, but warned of a downside.
He said: "Because the ICA now has to impose rigorous criteria and checks to ensure that marriages are not sham, it affects genuine marriages as well.
"Some in genuine marriages are finding it difficult to secure long-term stays for their spouses. This creates uncertainty for the couple and makes it difficult for them to plan a family."
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Additional reporting by Jane Ng
