Man jailed for arranging two bogus marriages with Vietnamese ‘wives’

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times): – Within months of their first meetings, the Singaporean-Vietnamese couples solemnised their weddings at a restaurant, as organised by their “matchmaker” Tan Chuen Zin, 42.

But the men and women went their separate ways immediately after the wedding, with the Vietnamese “wives” renting his apartment for $530 each every month.

However, the sham marriages were discovered by the authorities, and the Singaporean was jailed for 1½ years and fined $13,000 last Friday (Jan 18) for arranging two marriages of convenience and harbouring the Vietnamese women.

He was caught by the authorities in March 2017 after the two “couples” he matchmade were arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officials a month before, said the ICA in a statement on Tuesday.

The two Singaporean men had approached Tan Chuen Zin in May 2016, as they were both in financial difficulties.

David Sim, 52, asked Tan Chuen Zin for job recommendations, but he offered Sim a marriage of convenience scheme instead that could bag Sim $4,000, and $300 for every successful extension of the visit pass of his “wife”.

Sim was matched to Vietnamese Tran Thuy Bich Tran, 24, in July that year, after she was advised by Tan Chuen Zin to get married to extend her stay in Singapore.

She paid Tan Chuen Zin $9,000 for the marriage, and was to pay him the subsequent $300 for every successful extension of her pass.

Tan Jian You, 27, who also told Tan Chuen Zin of his financial difficulties, was offered $1,500 for a marriage of convenience.

His “wife” was Vietnamese woman Vo Thi Diem Kieu, 23, who also paid Tan Chuen Zin $9,000 for the marriage.

Both “wives” stayed in Tan Chuen Zin’s apartment after their solemnisation ceremonies in November that year, and they paid him $530 each every month for rental.

But on Feb 20, 2017, the two couples were arrested by ICA officers.

Tan Chuen Zin was arrested the next month.

The two couples were sentenced to six months’ jail in 2017 for entering into sham marriages and making false statements in the visit pass applications.

Last year, the ICA busted at least two sham marriage syndicates, which involved a total of 31 people, among them 13 fake married couples.

The ICA statement said: “ICA takes a serious view of individuals trying to circumvent our system by engaging in or arranging or assisting to arrange marriages of convenience to obtain immigration facilities in Singapore.”

The maximum penalty for arranging or entering into a marriage of convenience is a fine of up to $10,000 and a jail term of up to 10 years.