China woman to S';pore date on first meet:
Let's get married now
She offers another S'porean, a finance exec, 43, the same
deal
August 27, 2006
WITH her silky-smooth complexion, long black hair and slim figure,
Qili (not her real name) could have any man she wanted.
But she wanted more than 'any man'. The woman from Liaoning
province in China wanted Singapore citizenship.
Like many of her peers, the diploma-holder wanted to strike it rich
in what she saw as the land of opportunity.
So three years ago, Qili got herself a student pass and and a
one-way air ticket to Singapore.
Once in the country, she ignored her student status and found
herself a job as a cleaner.
She also approached a matchmaking agency to find her a husband. But
the agency could not provide the kind of man she wanted.
Speaking to The New Paper on condition of anonymity because of
confidentiality agreements with clients, the agency owner said:
'She had big eyes and gentle manners. Although she put down her age
as 33, she looked like she was in her 20s. But she was also
secretive about personal details and answered our questions
carefully.
'She specifically wanted men who were aged 50 and under, with a
stable career and earning more than $3,000 a month.'
WANTED FAKE MARRIAGE
But one sentence she said put the owner off.
'She said she wanted a 'fake marriage' to get PR status here, and
was willing to pay me and the man to do it. I told her I couldn't
do that.'
Undaunted, Qili returned to the same agency a year later and told
the owner that she was sincere about finding true love.
This time round, she would accept a man under 60 and did not
specify a minimum salary.
'I accepted that her aims might have changed over the year, so I
set her up with a 36-year-old auditor.
'But after their first date, he came back in a huff and scolded me
for setting him up with a woman like that.
'He told me Qili offered him money to marry her immediately. I
questioned her about it, and she said she was joking,' the agency
owner recalled.
Believing her, the owner then set Qili up with a 43-year-old
finance executive. But the same thing happened.
Qili was then told there would be no more matches.
Other agency owners said Qili's is a familiar story that they've
heard time and time again.
Mr Jansen Ong, owner of Life Partner Matchmaker, said he knew of
agencies that 'specialise' in setting up such unions.
He added that it was mostly ageing blue-collar workers, looking to
earn easy money, who are roped in to seal the deal.
'I have turned down several girls who called my agency to say they
are willing to pay me to find a man for this purpose. The practice
is quite common,' Mr Ong said.
Ms Kelly Jiang, owner of Fate Marriage Agent, said she has also met
a few women like that.
'They are quite honest about it and just ask 'Do you do quickie
marriages?' They claim they are single or divorced, but when I ask
them for their divorce papers, they say it's in China.
'I tell them the divorce certificate serial number or personal
identification number is enough because we have a branch in China
that can verify their marital status.
'And I never see them again,' said Ms Jiang.
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12 jailed in last 2 years for sham marriage corruption
TWELVE people have been jailed for between four and 12 months since
2004 for marriage scams, according to the Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau records.
At least four more sham marriage cases have been heard in court
since then, including the one we reported on page 2:
A 58-year-old bankrupt arranged for a friend to marry his Myanmar
girlfriend so she could stay here.
Lin Yami paid Ye Defu $200 to marry the woman, 33, who arrived on a
fake passport.
But she lived with Lin. They were caught after two years on 8 Feb
this year and all three were jailed and fined in June. Ye for three
months and Lin for ten months.
The woman will be repatriated after serving her 16-month term and
barred from returning here.
Painter Loh Jun Lee, 53, was jailed eight months and fined $10,000
in May for arranging a marriage for a China national karaoke
hostess. He took $10,000 from Zheng Li, 32, for arranging to marry
his friend on 18 Aug last year. He paid the friend $1,000. Zheng
was jailed six months.
Cambodian Khuch Hay, 28, was jailed six months in April for
arranging a sham marriage between her Vietnamese tenant, 24, and a
Singaporean man.
Chia Kang Meng, 56, received $2,000 to marry Duong Thi Thuy Van in
May 2003. Van also paid him $100 to $400 each time he accompanied
her to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to extend her stay
here.
Both were jailed 10 months in March.
