Deep troubles for these two!
Indians again!?!
Sigh! When are we going to see Singaporean Chinese and Malays involved and not committing offence like these two???
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,181305,00.html?
Lovebirds turn jailbirds
Couple lied to get married but gets caught out
By Elysa Chen
October 26, 2008
TRUE to their wedding vows to be together 'for better or for worse', this couple may end up going to jail together for two weeks - for lying to be together.
Indian national Mohamed Sheriff Yasmin, 32, was so desperate to marry her Singapore lover Sahrudeen Mohammad Resul Mohamed, 33, that she resorted to using her cousin's particulars to get a passport.
This happened after her earlier application for marriage permit was rejected by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) because of her previous stint here as a maid.
Checks by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on 26 Apr, five days after they solemnised their marriage, exposed their lie.
Sahrudeen Mohammad and Yasmin first met when family members introduced them in 2007. They decided to tie the knot after six months. But that was when they ran into problems.
As Yasmin had previously had a work permit, having worked here in Singapore, she was required to obtain MOM's approval to marry. But her application was rejected and she had to return to India when her visa expired at the end of September 2007.
When she returned to India, Yasmin said in her mitigation that she was taunted and ridiculed because of her failed marriage plans.
She then hatched a plan to return to Singapore to marry Sahrudeen Mohammad by using an Indian passport under a different name. She got a passport using her cousin's particulars and returned to Singapore in March.
When the couple registered their marriage on 11 Apr, Yasmin made a declaration before the Kadi (a judge ruling in accordance with the Syariah law), Mr Karim Ahmad, that the personal particulars which she had given were true.
After successfully applying for their marriage and solemnising it, the couple applied for a visit pass, with Sahrudeen Mohammad acting as Yasmin's sponsor.
The ICA, acting on their false statements, approved their application for the visit pass. But a background check later exposed them.
An MOM spokesman said that a work permit condition is that all current and former work permit holders must seek approval from MOM before marrying a Singapore citizen or permanent resident.
'If the marriage proceeds without approval, the spouse may not be able to obtain residency status in Singapore.'
Clear message
'This requirement is necessary to send a clear message to the foreign workers that they should come here only to work and not with the intention of sinking roots in Singapore.
'In assessing applications by citizens or permanent residents to marry current or former work permit holders, MOM will consider, among other factors, whether the couple is likely to be financially self-reliant.'
When they appeared before district judge Shaifuddin Saruwan on charges of making false statements in Yasmin's visit pass application and their marriage application, she pleaded that she did it because she loved her husband and that she was five months pregnant.
Sahrudeen Mohammad pleaded that he was worried about losing his job should he be convicted.
The judge decided to sentence the couple to two weeks' jail because he felt that they had undermined the administration of justice, and that a token period of imprisonment would not sufficiently reflect the seriousness of the offence.
But he had felt that a lengthy prison term would also be 'unduly harsh', considering that the offence was committed not to seek employment but to secure a marital relationship.
The couple are out on bail and are appealing the sentence.
If they lose the appeal, they will be sent to prison - but in separate facilities.
