Luong pleaded guilty to a charge of an arranged marriage with the intention of obtaining an immigration advantage for Vuong.
Similarly, her daughter and the 51-year-old husband were also sentenced to six months in jail, but the latter was also fined an additional S$8,000.
The marriage-of-convenience
As reported by Mothership, Luong got acquainted with Le Thuy Trieu, a Vietnamese woman, in 2016 and shared that she wanted her daughter to stay longer in Singapore to find work.
In response, Le said to Luong that she could arrange a marriage-of-convenience with a Singaporean man, Hoo Kee Hwa. The marriage can provide immigration advantages for her daughter, Vuong, in the form of a visit pass.
Thinking it was a great idea, Luong proposed the idea to Vuong and also agreed with it. She paid cash payments of over S$16,000 to Le to carry out the marriage.
In the same year, Hoo and Vuong got married at Inspired by Luv Cafe, 7 Canning Rise, where the Registry of Marriages (ROM) is located. Luong acted as one of the marriage witnesses.
Arrested by ICA
The three of them were arrested on Feb. 9, 2023, at the ICA building, but how the ICA caught them is still unknown.
The Vietnamese mother’s lawyer argued that her actions were only motivated by an “altruistic reason.” She was also acting on motherly concern to seek a better life for her daughter, Today reported.
However, District Judge Wong Li Tien countered that Luong was, in fact, the one who instigated the marriage-of-convenience in the first place.
The judge also mentioned that such sham marriages deceive the ICA and Registry of Marriages (ROM), and may give ideas for more people with “no real ties to Singapore” to partake in fake marriages.
“The ICA takes a serious view of individuals trying to circumvent our system by engaging in, arranging or assisting to arrange marriage-of-convenience to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore,” an ICA representative added.
