2 Myanmar nationals and Singaporean jailed for sham marriage offence

Two Myanmar nationals and a Singaporean who were involved in a sham marriage offence were jailed on Friday.

The agent, Kyaw Kyaw Oo, 35, was given nine months' jail for arranging a marriage of convenience between Safari Minhad, 52, and Aye Aye Nyien, 31, between mid-August last year and Jan 4 this year. The marriage between Safari and Aye Aye took place at Jurong West Community Club on Jan 4. Both were each sentenced to six months' jail on Friday.

The court heard that Aye Aye, a domestic worker, had approached Kyaw Kyaw, who was her neighbour in Myanmar, and told him she no longer wanted to work as a maid in Singapore.

She asked whether he knew of any eligible male Singapore citizen who would be willing to enter into a marriage of convenience with her so that she could prolong her stay to look for another job. She indicated she was willing to pay $3,000 for such a marriage.

Kyaw Kyaw then met Safari in a coffeeshop at Lucky Plaza and asked him if he was interested in getting into a "fake marriage'' in exchange for money.

Safari. who had borrowed money from Kyaw Kyaw before agreed. The couple did not live together after the marriage but went their separate ways.

Each of them could have been fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to 10 years.

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