Wednesday September 15, 2010
Malaysian husbands ‘for hire’
By SHAUN HO
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KUALA LUMPUR: Some Malaysian men who marry foreign women are paid monthly ‘salaries’ by their wives to renew their social visit passes. MCA Public Services and Complaints Department chief Datuk Michael Chong said these marriages of convenience came to light after local husbands sought his help to locate their wives who had run away.
Chong, who highlighted this issue in a press conference yesterday, said some of the men were looking for their wives because they wanted the RM500 payment to renew their spouses’ social visit passes. “I feel like I have been used to find their wives,” he said, adding that he refused to offer any further help after discovering the scam.
Chong’s department has handled nine cases over the last two years of foreign wives who disappear after receiving their social visit passes with the majority involving women from China and Vietnam. However, that was not the case for a rubber smallholder from Seremban, who only wished to be identified as Ngo, 53.
In 2007, Ngo was introduced to China national Chen Xiao Qing, 39, by a friend one year after losing his first wife to cancer and married her in July last year. Six months into their marriage, Chen began to leave the house for days with the excuse of visiting friends or family. “She would only come back for a few days when it was time to renew the pass,” said a soft-spoken Ngo, who was at the conference with Chong.
Ngo said he has not been able to contact Chen for a month and does not have copies of her personal documents. “I only have a copy of our marriage certificate,” Ngo said, adding her social visit pass will expire in late November. He also said he was willing to give Chen three months to mend her ways, but would divorce her if she refused to change.
