Pregnancy denials put mother in jail
By Zhao Wen |
01:09 UTC+8 June 29, 2013
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A WOMAN from Chinese mainland was jailed for a year by a Hong Kong court for making false claims in order to give birth in the special administrative region.
The 33-year-old, surnamed Shu, was 37 weeks pregnant when she and her husband arrived at the Hung Hom railway station from Dongguan in Guangdong Province in February, yesterday's Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
They denied Shu was pregnant despite an immigration officer asking three times in both Mandarin and Cantonese, Kwun Tong Magistrates Court heard.
At first, the officer refused to let her cross the border but she started to go into labor and was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she gave birth to a son.
The Immigration Department charged Shu with making false claims.
Shu was required to report to the immigration department in Hong Kong every month until the conclusion of her trial, the report said, and during one of these trips, on May 8, she was detained by police after biting an immigration officer on the arm.
The newspaper said Shu had asked the department to issue a birth certificate for her son and had refused to leave the office.
During her trial, Shu claimed she wanted to enter Hong Kong to buy infant formula but the judge said there was an obvious intent to give birth as she was already over nine months pregnant.
The judge told Shu that she should have made a hospital appointment before coming to Hong Kong, the newspaper said.
The judge said Shu's actions put pressure on the local hospital and were an abuse of medical resources.
Citizenship
Mainland women have chosen to give birth in Hong Kong partly to circumvent the country's one-child policy but also to gain Hong Kong citizenship for their babies.
Hong Kong tightened restrictions on mainland mothers giving birth in the territory after a huge increase in the number of women coming to give birth in the city.
Currently, women who have been pregnant for 28 months or more must have an appointment letter showing they can give birth in Hong Kong, or they will be refused entry.
The 33-year-old, surnamed Shu, was 37 weeks pregnant when she and her husband arrived at the Hung Hom railway station from Dongguan in Guangdong Province in February, yesterday's Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
They denied Shu was pregnant despite an immigration officer asking three times in both Mandarin and Cantonese, Kwun Tong Magistrates Court heard.
At first, the officer refused to let her cross the border but she started to go into labor and was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she gave birth to a son.
The Immigration Department charged Shu with making false claims.
Shu was required to report to the immigration department in Hong Kong every month until the conclusion of her trial, the report said, and during one of these trips, on May 8, she was detained by police after biting an immigration officer on the arm.
The newspaper said Shu had asked the department to issue a birth certificate for her son and had refused to leave the office.
During her trial, Shu claimed she wanted to enter Hong Kong to buy infant formula but the judge said there was an obvious intent to give birth as she was already over nine months pregnant.
The judge told Shu that she should have made a hospital appointment before coming to Hong Kong, the newspaper said.
The judge said Shu's actions put pressure on the local hospital and were an abuse of medical resources.
Citizenship
Mainland women have chosen to give birth in Hong Kong partly to circumvent the country's one-child policy but also to gain Hong Kong citizenship for their babies.
Hong Kong tightened restrictions on mainland mothers giving birth in the territory after a huge increase in the number of women coming to give birth in the city.
Currently, women who have been pregnant for 28 months or more must have an appointment letter showing they can give birth in Hong Kong, or they will be refused entry.
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