A 35-year-old new Mainland mother was charged at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts with one count of making false representation to an immigration officer and sentenced to six months in prison today.

The defendant delivered her baby in November in the Mainland. However, she claimed to an immigration officer that she was not pregnant when she arrived in Hong Kong in June as a visitor.

She attempted to enter Hong Kong again in October but was refused permission and sent back to the Mainland. Investigations ensued.

In December, she intended to enter Hong Kong again and was arrested when she arrived. She pleaded guilty to the charge of making false representation to an immigration officer upon arrival in June and was sentenced to at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts today.

Under Hong Kong laws, any person who makes a false representation to an immigration officer commits an offence, and the maximum penalty is a $150,000 fine and 14 years in prison.