Truth can be stranger than fiction. It couldn’t have been more true than in the case of a couple who were living in a marriage of convenience and were caught red-handed only recently.
On Thursday (11 March), a 46-year-old man and 34-year-old woman were jailed by authorities for having arranged a ‘fake’ marriage and for making false statements.
Man And Woman Caught Living In A Marriage Of Convenience
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Pang Beng Lee had arranged a marriage of convenience between his late elder brother Pang Beng Hai and Chinese national Qin Fuxing. The former reportedly met her while living in Malaysia.
The younger Pang suggested the marriage. He knew his brother needed a flat to stay, after transferring the ownership of his previous one to his ex-wife. They knew that if he married Qin, they would be able to apply for subsidised housing–by virtue of their marriage.
According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the couple had the marriage solemnised back in 11 September 2017, with Beng Hai’s brother as a witness.
With this, the ICA said in a news release that Beng Hai had acted as Qin’s sponsor so that she could extend her stay in Singapore several times. They also said that Beng Lee abetted Beng Hai and Qin in making false statements in her Visit Pass applications. That she was declaring that they were staying together in the same residential address.
The ‘Couple’ And Brother Were Then Arrested
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Qin Fuxing and the two brothers were all arrested in their three different residential addresses. These included Jurong, Hougang and Woodlands.
- Pang Beng Lee was sentenced to one year and two weeks’ jail.
- Qin Fuxing was sentenced to 10 months and two weeks.
- Pang Beng Hai was abated from his involvement in the offences for he died last April.
“ICA takes a serious view of individuals trying to circumvent our system by engaging in or arranging/assisting to arrange MOCs to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore,” stated the ICA.
For their offences, the ICA said the three would have been:
- Fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to 10 years or both for the marriage of convenience.
- Fined up to S$4,000, jailed for up to 12 months or both for making false statements. This, in order to obtain immigration facilities.
The ICA also added that they “will continue to take firm enforcement action against errant couples and middlemen. We will spare no effort in investigating such cases, and will pursue every available lead.”
While this case has come a rude shock to many, it has also highlighted why an arrangement such as this almost never works. Not just for legal reasons but also psychological.
How A Marriage Of Convenience Can Be Harmful
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Marriage is certainly not easy but it should not be a commitment just carelessly done. Living in a marriage of convenience is not only an act of crime. It can also actually seriously cause harm to your relationship. While it may come off as convenient for you both, you’ll find that it just won’t have the same passion or feel fulfilling.
You may even find yourself stuck in a toxic relationship, where instead of facing conflicts with each other, you allow your anger and frustration to grow just to keep the convenience of the marriage. This could especially be harmful if there are kids involved in such relationships.
In fact, Pamela Haag, Ph.D describes a marriage of convenience as “soul-killing” as it involves having to sacrifice happiness to live life a little bit easier. So instead of an “easy” life, you could end up feeling trapped as a couple instead “to save face.”
News source: CNA
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