By SHEILA LASIBORI
A CHINESE national from Shanghai has claimed that he paid money to some Foreign Affairs and Immigration Division officers in Port Moresby to get his visa renewed.
Chen Guang Chen, 41, said that when nothing happened, he contacted another officer who called him a few months later to attend an interview with immigration officers.
When he turned up, Chen said he was detained and handed over to police and charged under the the Migration Act for staying in PNG illegally.
The Boroko District Court, which was hearing the matter, had asked the police to help identify the officers alleged to be involved.
In his affidavit, Chen said that before his work permit and visa expired in 2004, he filed the necessary documents and along with the fees to “several persons” to get it renewed.
He said he first gave them to an officer whom he named in the affidavit but for six months nothing happened.
He got the items back from the officer and was introduced to two brothers who promised to get his application processed.
Chen said the brothers asked for K3,000 for their “services” but he only paid them K1,000.
Nothing happened for two years and he got in touch with another officer, whom he also named in the affidavit, to help, he said.
Chen said several months later, the officer informed him that his application had been processed but that Immigration officers needed to interview him.
When he appeared at the office, he was arrested.
Another Chinese national is expected to appear in Boroko District Court today for not having a valid visa.
Chen Xia Fan, 38, from Guangdong village, is alleged to have arrived in the country on a fishing boat on March 11, 2005.
He was selling hair brushes with two Papua New Guineans when police arrested him.