65-year-old mainland woman jailed for sham marriage to reunite with brother 

A 65-year-old mainland woman holding a two-way exit permit was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Wednesday (Nov 26) after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Hong Kong government.

The woman, Li Huiqiong, married a Hong Kong man in a sham marriage last year and falsely declared that she was coming to Hong Kong to join her spouse. 

She admitted that between March 2024 and October 3, 2025, she conspired with the man and others to mislead the Director of Immigration and her staff into granting her entry to Hong Kong, which they would not otherwise have approved.

At Shatin Magistrates’ Courts, Li’s lawyer argued for leniency, saying she grew up in mainland China, had worked as a farmer, and became a full-time housewife after marrying at 25. She divorced over 20 years ago and has three children. 

The lawyer emphasized that Li acted foolishly solely to reunite with her brother in Hong Kong and expressed deep remorse.

Acting Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong took the mitigating factors into account, setting an initial sentence of 18 months, and reduced it to 12 months following her guilty plea.