Jail for man, 73, who got foreign colleague to pay his cash-strapped niece S$25,000 for sham marriage
As part of the sham marriage, a Singaporean woman agreed to sponsor renewals of her Indian groom's short-term visit pass.
SINGAPORE — When his colleague confided in Meeran Gani Nagoor Pitchai, about wanting to extend his short term visit pass, Meeran suggested marrying his niece, who was facing financial difficulties, in return for the payment of S$25,000.
Meeran, 73, pleaded guilty on Wednesday (April 26), to arranging a marriage of convenience between his colleague, a 55-year-old India national, and his 58-year-old Singaporean niece, in order to gain an immigration advantage.
District Judge Wong Peck sentenced Meeran to six months’ jail.
As part of the arrangement, Meeran had arranged for his niece to become his colleague's sponsor.
Applicants for a short term visit pass require a local sponsor if they want an extension of 89 days from their date of entry to Singapore or are citizens from specific countries.
WHAT HAPPENED
In 2016, Meeran’s colleague, Abdul Kader Kasim, who was the groom in the arranged marriage, told Meeran about his wish to extend his short-term visit pass.
Meeran then suggested the idea of marrying his niece, Noorjan Abdul Karim, who was facing financial difficulties, so that she could act as Abdul Kader’s sponsor for his subsequent visit pass applications.
In return, Abdul Kader would pay S$25,000 to Noorjan, and Meeran would receive S$1,000 from this amount since Noorjan’s ex-husband owed him money.
Both Abdul Kader and Noorjan agreed to the marriage and the financial arrangement.
They solemnised their marriage at a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Sengkang on Sept 17, 2016.
Meeran was supposed to be the witness for the marriage but sent his son in his place. Court documents did not state the reason for this.
On Sept 28 last year, Meeran was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the ICA building for arranging a marriage of convenience to obtain an immigration advantage.
In court on Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Ganeshvaran Dhanasekaran from ICA sought six months’ jail for Meeran on the grounds of the need for general deterrence, and the fact that Meeran’s niece was facing financial difficulties, which forced her to turn to the sham marriage.
He said that although Meeran did not profit financially from the marriage, ICA takes a serious view of sham marriages.
“Sham marriages are an offence… they are difficult to detect as evidence of sham marriages is difficult to uncover,” ASP Ganeshvaran said.
Meeran’s defence counsel, Mr Rajan Supramaniam, did not propose a specific sentence, but he sought a lesser sentence than the prosecution’s proposal of six months’ jail.
He added that his client was “very remorseful” and his intention was only to help his colleague and niece.
“I would like to emphasise, as the prosecution said, that my client did not benefit anything from this (marriage arrangement) except the S$1,000 he received, which was a loan that he extended,” Mr Rajan said.
I agree with the prosecution that there is a need for general deterrence as sham marriages are difficult to detect.
The judge noted that although Meeran did not profit financially from the arrangement, he 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,” District Judge Wong said.
Abdul Kader and Noorjan have been convicted over their role in the sham marriage.
Abdul Kader was sentenced to six months’ jail on Aug 15 last year, while Noorjan was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Feb 24 this year.
Anyone convicted of arranging a marriage of convenience to obtain an immigration advantage can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined up to S$10,000, or both.
