A 37-year-old manager was charged with falsely making a marriage
certificate and going through a form of marriage without
solemnisation today.
Jerome Ow Siew Nam allegedly went through a marriage with a
woman named Ng Siew Chiau at a flat in Tampines on Feb 14, 2007,
without solemnisation. This makes the marriage void.
Shin Min Daily News reported that Ow had made the woman
pregnant, and was forced to marry her. Their sham marriage ceremony
was witnessed by her family and friends.
But Ow often disappeared after their 'marriage', which aroused
Ng's suspicions. After making a police report, she discovered that
her marriage was not recognised by the law. The news was further
verified after she sent an email copy of her marriage certificate
to the Registry of Marriages.
The Chinese evening daily also reported that Ow already has a
wife who is of Thai nationality, and he also has a son with the
latter. He also had a previous marriage to another woman named
Huang Feng Ling in 1996, when he was 23. However, that marriage
ended in a divorce in 2002. He married his Thai wife in November
2004. He is not divorced from his Thai wife.
Ow had not disclosed his marriage to Ng, but only told her that
he had a previous relationship. He also did not inform her that he
has a son.
Ng's mother also told Shin Min Daily News that she had brought
Ow home to meet the family before they went through their marriage
ceremony. He appeared gentlemanly and did not look like a
cheat.
She said: "My daughter only knew she was cheated after the
marriage." She refused to comment further and believes that her
daughter has already aborted her pregnancy.
A pre-trial conference has been set for Jan 10.
If convicted of forging the marriage certificate, he can be
jailed for up to seven years and fined up to $10,000.
The other offence of going through a marriage ceremony without
solemnisation is punishable with up to three years' jail and a
$5,000 fine.
extracted from asiaone
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