Some Malaysian bachelors are getting hitched to foreign women for a price.
Instead of paying match-making agencies for a foreign bride, these men are being paid between RM3,000 and RM20,000 each to marry women from China, Vietnam and other neighbouring countries so that they can obtain visas to stay longer in the country.
It is learnt that payment involving a larger sum is made in instalments and the marriage contract usually lasts for two years. Arrangements are even made for the “bride” and “groom” to have wedding photographs taken as proof of their matrimonial status.
While their marriage certificate is legal and valid, their objective is far from honourable. The women who pay for the marriage of convenience are usually involved in vice activities and their “husbands” will be paid an additional fee to “bail” them out of trouble if they are arrested.
According to the Immigration authorities, this modus operandi by syndicates has been detected in major cities like Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Ipoh.
Immigration enforcement director Zamberi Abdul Aziz said they had been working with the National Registration Department and police to crack the racket since last year.
“These cases often go undetected until the foreign women are caught in raids at vice dens, night spots and massage parlours. The ‘husbands’ will turn up with the women’s passports and marriage certificates. But there are cases when we ask the man for the woman’s full name or to pick her out from a lineup of five women and he is unable to do so.”
Zamberi said the Immigration department had the right to detain the women for further investigation even if they presented valid papers.
According to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday, 5,792 Chinese nationals were caught abusing their social passes by working as prostitutes while 123 others misused their marriage visas.
Penang Immigration Department director Abdul Qadir Siddiq Ahmad said so far this year, they had cancelled six passes of Chinese national spouses and deported them. Last year, they cancelled 23 passes.
In Ipoh, a source said that once the two-year marriage contract is up, the woman would “apply” to the husband to dissolve the marriage.
