Broke worker offers marriage for $3,000
Theresa Tan
The Sunday Times
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013
SINGAPORE - Odd-job worker Mohamad Azmi Ahmad (above, on the right), 31, was broke and a friend told him he could make some money by going through a sham marriage with a foreign woman who wanted to be in Singapore.
He thought of Vietnamese national Tran Thi Lieu (above, on the left), 26, whom he got to know last year.
She had come to Singapore on holiday, had an affair with a married Singaporean man, and returned home.
Azmi contacted Lieu and suggested going through a sham marriage if she paid him $3,000.
She would then be able to stay in Singapore, and he assured her there would be no sex involved and they could live apart.
She agreed, though it is not clear why she wanted to be in Singapore.
In January, she flew here and was given a visit pass valid for four days. On the day her pass was due to expire, the pair registered their marriage.
They then went immediately to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), and she got a two-week extension on her visit pass.
When they went back later to seek another extension, both were arrested for making a false statement to get an extension.
They were each sentenced to six months' jail.
In the end, Azmi received only $300. They were arrested before he got the remaining $2,700.
