NSW cop admits sham marriage for money

30 Oct 2012, 6:58 pm   -   Source: AAP

A NSW officer is facing criminal prosecution after admitting to lying to the police watchdog about concocting a sham marriage for money.

A NSW police officer planned a fake marriage for money, lied about it under oath and provided false information to immigration officials.

He is also accused of using his toddler son in one of two other fraudulent marriages allegedly concocted by his de facto wife.

Senior Constable Hoan Thien "Ryan" Pham, 31, admitted his actions on Tuesday afternoon at the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), after telling it earlier in the day that his engagement to another woman was genuine.

"I want to say that I lied (about the engagement)," he told the PIC after the lunch break.

"Just the fact that (I made up) the fact that my parents want me to marry a traditional Vietnamese girl and I knew that (my fiancee) wanted to come here."

He had told the PIC that his current relationship with his de facto of 12 years was under stress because his mother hated her.

Snr Const Pham and Bich Tuyen Kha wed in Sydney in 2006 but did not register the marriage and had a child in 2011.

This year he stated in a partner sponsor application to the Department of Immigration that he was engaged to a Ms Tran in Vietnam.

"All of this application is intended to deceive DIAC (the Department of Immigration and Citizenship)," counsel assisting the inquiry, Jeremy Gormly, said.

"Yes," Snr Const Pham replied.

"And it was done for the purposes of receiving payment," Mr Gormly said.

"Yes," he replied.

Sen Const Pham initially said he had not received any money but then changed his evidence to say he had received $15,000 from Ms Tran's sister and had negotiated nearly the same amount after the marriage.

Ms Kha allegedly chastised Snr Const Pham for taking money early, in a phone conversation intercepted by the PIC.

"This is a business," she said.

"I don't feel like we've done anything yet."

Ms Kha has not given evidence yet and Sen Const Pham said his wife's two marriages to Vietnamese men were genuine.

But her 2010 marriage to Hoang Thi Lieu, for an alleged sum of $30,000, involved Mr Lieu being listed as the father of Snr Const Pham's and Ms Kha's son.

"You and your wife, in a thought-out plan, allowed the birth certificate to be falsified and allowed it to be used with false family photos to support Mr Lieu's (immigration) application," Mr Gormly said.

"I disagree," Snr Const Pham replied.

He is also accused of tipping off an alleged criminal about a police raid on his property and informing his brother that police had targeted his share house for drugs.

In another phone intercept, he asked his brother to stage a robbery at his house where his brother-in-law lives.

He told his brother that his brother-in-law knew "junkies" and drug dealers and had more than $100,000 stashed in a wardrobe.

His brother declined to rob the house and Snr Const Pham told the PIC it was all a joke to impress his brother.

The hearings continue on Wednesday.

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