Public Prosecutor v Liao Haifen

JurisdictionSingapore
JudgeCh'ng Lye Beng
Judgment Date25 September 2009
Neutral Citation[2009] SGDC 347
CourtDistrict Court (Singapore)
Year2009
Citation[2009] SGDC 347
Plaintiff CounselDPP Imran Abdul Hamid
Defendant CounselAllister Lim (Allister Lim & Thrumurgan)
Published date29 September 2009

25th September 2009

District Judge Ch'ng Lye Beng

The Charges

1. The Accused Liao Haifen, a People’s Republic of China (PRC) national, aged 31 and unemployed, was represented by counsel when she pleaded guilty before me to the following two similar charges:

(1st charge – DAC 18401/2009)

You,
Liao Haifen, F/31 yrs
FIN: G0242150Q
PRC National

are charged that you, on or about the 20th day of June 2005, in Singapore, did abet by intentionally aiding Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd, in making false statement to obtain a Professional Visit Pass for yourself, to wit, you stated in your Form 14 Professional Visit Pass application that:

a) you are to be a stage singer at Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd with a basic monthly salary of $2,000

which statement you knew to be false, which act was committed in consequence of your abetment, and you have thereby committed an offence under Section 57(1)(k) and punishable under Section 57(1)(vi) of the Immigration Act, Chapter 133, read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

(2nd charge – DAC 18402/2009)

You,
Liao Haifen, F/31 yrs
FIN: G0242150Q
PRC National

are charged that you, on or about the 17th day of August 2005, in Singapore, did abet by intentionally aiding Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd, in making false statement to obtain a Professional Visit Pass for yourself, to wit, you stated in your Form 14 Professional Visit Pass application that:

a) you are to be a stage singer at Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd with a basic monthly salary of $2,000

which statement you knew to be false, which act was committed in consequence of your abetment, and you have thereby committed an offence under Section 57(1)(k) and punishable under Section 57(1)(vi) of the Immigration Act, Chapter 133, read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

2. Having found the Accused guilty and convicted her of the two charges above, the Accused further admitted and consented to another similar charge under DAC 18400/2009 to be taken into consideration (“TIC”) for sentencing. Both the proceeded charges and the TIC charge revolve around the offending false declaration to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to obtain a Professional Visit Pass (PVP).

3. The Accused is charged for having aided Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd(Grand Century) to declare to ICA to the following effect which was false.

“that you are to be a stage singer at Grand Century Nite-Club Pte Ltd with a basic monthly salary of $2,000”

Facts of the Case

4. The Statement of Facts (“SOF”) revealed that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (“CPIB”) had received information on 17 August 2005 that PRC national singers did not perform as singers at Grand Century after being issued with a PVP by ICA to perform as such.

5. The SOF disclosed that CPIB investigation led to the discovery that the Accused had contacted one Lionel Ang in February 2005 and inquired from him, what would the best course be, for her to stay in Singapore for a few months without seeking employment as all she wanted to do was to spend more time with her Singaporean boyfriend.

6. The Accused had (from the Defence Counsel’s mitigation admitted and marked “D1”) legitimately worked as a singer at a karaoke then known as Kuan Sisters which was subsequently renamed Lido Palace from around March 2003 to March 2004 on a PVP issued by ICA. During this time when the Accused was working as a singer, she met a Singaporean working as a piano player at Lido Palace. The piano player is the said Lionel Ang.

7. Lionel Ang informed the Accused before the Accused returned to PRC around March 2004 that he was also working as an agent for work pass applications in Singapore. Lionel Ang told the Accused that if she contacted him, she can save by not having to pay agency fees at the PRC end.

8. These facts set the stage for the Accused to subsequently contact Lionel Ang when she wanted to stay in Singapore for a few months with her boyfriend in February 2005.

9. The SOF states that Lionel Ang then introduced the Accused to an arrangement called “Mai Wei” whereby her PVP extension would be endorsed by her claiming that she was employed locally as a singer at Grand Century. Lionel informed the Accused that under the arrangement, the Accused would not have to perform as a singer. The Accused however has to pay a monthly sum of $600 to Grand Century for her “place” of employment at Grand Century. Lionel Ang would also charge her a fee of $400 as his agent’s fee for helping her to apply for the PVP extension under the arrangement. The Accused agreed to the arrangement.

10. The SOF showed that in the process of obtaining the PVP for the Accused, Lionel approached one Molly Choong, the Accounts Executive of Grand Century on behalf of the Accused as Lionel Ang knew that Grand Century were engaging in “Mai Wei” arrangement for a monthly fee of $600. CPIB investigation revealed that Molly Choong obtained the approval of Katherine Wong Yew Ya, the Financial Controller of Grand Century for the Accused to have a “place” at Grand Century.

11. Once all parties concerned were in agreement, the arrangement called for Grand Century to formally sponsor the Accused for the PVP application to ICA. The SOF disclosed that Lionel Ang sent a blank Immigration Form 14 to the Accused in PRC for her to sign in blank. She then mailed the signed Form 14 together with a photocopy of her passport to Lionel Ang. Lionel Ang then filled up the said signed Form 14 and got Katherine Wong to sign on the said Form 14 on behalf of Grand Century, declaring that the Accused is an employee (as a singer) of Grand Century.

12. The declaration, which was endorsed by the Accused, stated that she was earning $2,000 per month as well. The application for PVP was then submitted to ICA. The ICA approved the PVP for the Accused to perform at Grand Century for the validity period from 1 April 2005 to 30 June 2005.

13. The Accused arrived in Singapore on 30 May 2005 on a PVP and she stayed with her boyfriend, without working at all, on the “Mai Wei” arrangement with Grand Century. The Accused subsequently extended the PVP twice with the assistance of Lionel Ang, the extensions which now form the subject matter...

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