Sham marriage lasting almost 20 years unveiled via an anonymous tip-off

A case involving a fake marriage between a local woman and a resident from the mainland has been unveiled after the Public Security Police Force (PSP) received an anonymous tip-off, a PSP spokesperson reported Monday during the regular press conference of the local police forces.

The case dates back to 2004 when the local woman, now 60 years of age, met the man (52) during a dinner gathering with friends.

In April 2005, they decided to get married on the mainland. In 2009, the man, who is said to be a business owner, requested the status of Macau residency, claiming to seek a family reunion.

Trusting the declarations made and the documentary proof of the marriage, the residency status was approved and the man was granted a Macau resident identification card.

Unknown to the authorities, the same couple had been divorced in the mainland less than one year after the man obtained his ID card, a fact that they managed to hide from the local authorities until now.

Both the suspects live in Macau currently in the northern district, but in separate homes. They admitted to the police that their marriage was staged just to obtain the man’s permanent residency in Macau, which he has been enjoying for more than a decade.

The woman also admitted to having received some HKD50,000 when she agreed to marry the man. RM