Sham marriage for visa gets Indian-origin man jailed in Singapore

An Indian-origin man in Singapore has been sentenced to six months in prison for arranging a marriage of convenience between a colleague and his niece to gain an immigration advantage, a media report said.

Meeran Gani Nagoor Pitchai, 73, asked Abdul Kader Kasim, an Indian national who wanted to extend his short-term visit pass in 2016, to marry his cash-strapped niece in return for the payment of S$25,000, the TODAY newspaper reported.

Short term visit pass applicants, seeking an extension of 89 days from their date of entry to Singapore, require a local sponsor.

As part of the arrangement, Pitchai arranged for his niece, Noorjan Abdul, to become Kasim's sponsor.

After Kasim and Noorjan agreed to the marriage and the financial arrangement, it was agreed that Pitchai would get S$1,000 as Noorjan's former husband owed him money.

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The marriage was solemnised in September 2016, and Pitchai was arrested last year by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers for arranging a sham marriage to obtain immigration benefit.

"Sham marriages are an offence, they are difficult to detect as evidence of sham marriages is difficult to uncover," Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Ganeshvaran Dhanasekaran from ICA told the court on Wednesday.

He sought a six-month jail term for Pitchai from the court, stating that ICA takes a serious view of sham marriages.

Defence counsel Rajan Supramaniam said his client was "very remorseful" and his intention was only to help his colleague and niece.

Supramaniam did not propose a specific sentence but sought a lesser sentence for Pitchai, the TODAY reported.

District Judge Wong Peck noted that Pitchai did not profit financially from the arrangement, but played a "major role" in arranging the marriage.

"I agree with the prosecution that there is a need for general deterrence as sham marriages are difficult to detect," Peck said.

Kasim was sentenced to six months' jail in August last year, while Noorjan was sentenced to seven months jail in February this year.

In Singapore, sham marriages conducted to obtain immigration advantage can lead to a jail term for up to 10 years or a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.