Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine immigration authorities arrested a couple from China after one of them tried to slip into Hong Kong by pretending to be a Filipino, Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said Thursday.
David said Fong Waiyan and his wife, Fan Yueying, were arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) on May 11 after Hong Kong immigration sent them back to Manila after discovering that Fan was using a fake Philippine passport.
He said Fan wanted to give birth to their second child in Hong Kong to avoid penalties under the mainland’s “one-child” policy.
“The couple left Manila using their Chinese passports. But upon arriving at the Hong Kong airport, Fan pretended to be a Filipino by presenting a fraudulent Philippine passport to the immigration officer,” David said.
“The woman was denied entry due to a dubious immigration departure stamp on her passport and Fong decided to go back with her to Manila,” he added.
David said the couple would be deported to China and blacklisted as soon as the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) board of commissioners issues the order for their summary deportation.
Fan will be deported for knowingly using a spurious travel document with the aid of her husband, who will also be kicked out for harboring and giving comfort to an illegal alien.
Uso Dan Salasim, Naia-BI intelligence unit head, said Fan readily confessed to using the fake Philippine passport so she could give birth to her second child at a Hong Kong hospital instead of in China.
“She explained that in China, couples who sire a second child are meted out stiff fines, depending on their social status and financial capacity,” Salasim said.
He said Fan also revealed that her husband was a government official and that the birth of a second child could be used against him by his political enemies.
“She said they found a website that offers speedy processing of third-country nationality and which they contacted and paid 200,000 Chinese yuan for making the Philippine passport,” Salasim said.