A pregnant mainland Chinese woman who travelled to Hong Kong for the delivery of her baby has been jailed for 12 months and fined HKD1,000.
The 23-year-old, who denied that she was pregnant when questioned by immigration officials upon her arrival at Hong Kong International Airport, attended an Accident and Emergency Department on Aug. 6 and delivered her child without prior booking.
When registering the birth last Thursday, the woman claimed she had no intention of having her baby here, and was only in the territory to visit her elder, Hong Kong-born daughter. When questioned under caution, however, the defendant admitted that she came to Hong Kong to give birth.
She pleaded guilty to one count of making false representation to an immigration officer and one count of false statutory declaration at Sha Tin Magistrates Court on Saturday.
This is a contentious issue in Hong Kong, as many local mothers struggle to find space in maternity wards due to “pregnancy tourists” from the mainland.
“Under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who makes false representation to an immigration officer commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of HKD150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years. Moreover, any person who knowingly and wilfully makes a false statutory declaration shall be liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to imprisonment for up to two years and a fine,” an Immigration Department spokesman said.
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