The 44-year-old defendant arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor and during his stay, he applied for an extension of stay at the ImmD claiming that it was for visiting his wife in Hong Kong.

The ImmD later discovered that the defendant's wife was out of Hong Kong during the time of the application and thus began an investigation. The defendant admitted under caution that when submitting the extension application, he knew his wife was not in Hong Kong.

He was then charged with making false representation to Immigration staff and was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment by the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts on March 25.

Any person who makes a false representation to an Immigration officer commits an offense and would be liable to prosecution along with being subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of HK$150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years upon conviction.