The 51-year-old defendant married a Hong Kong resident in the mainland in 2015. From then until early 2020, he had visited the city on the strength of the "visiting relatives" exit endorsement.

The ImmD later found out the defendant's wife had passed away in September 2018, but the defendant continued to use his endorsement for visiting relatives to enter Hong Kong.

On February 18 this year, the defendant arrived in Hong Kong through the Lo Wu Control Point. He was then stopped by the ImmD and was further investigated.

The defendant admitted that he had lost contact with his wife in 2018 and continued to use the exit endorsement to enter Hong Kong for convenience.

He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to four months in jail by the Sha Tin Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.