Man accused of marrying two women within a month

“Hetoldmeheonlymarriedtheotherwoman to help her get permanent residency He said he only loves me and was loyal to me.” cant’s responsibility to declare their marital status”

RCMP are investigating a former Steveston business owner accused by his wife from Taiwan of bigamy and immigration fraud.

VivianWang,55,abusinessownerinTaiwan, was introduced to her husband, a café owner in Steveston at the time, through a common friend in 2020 After chatting online for two years, Wang came to Vancouver where the couple lived together for two months before registering for marriage at the Vital Statistics office in Vancouver last June.

Just when Wang was looking forward to a new life with her new husband, she discovered he had married another woman, just three weeks after their marriage registration The RCMP said they are investigating the case and are looking into a bigamy charge

Alleged bigamy and immigration fraud

Wang showed the Richmond News her marriage certificate, dated June 28, 2022, and another marriage certificate she said her husband accidently sent to her with his name and date of birth, but with another woman’s name, dated July 19, 2022 It appears that both marriage certificates were issued by the same Vital Statistics office in Vancouver.

“I was in Taiwan preparing for moving to Canada to live with him permanently when I found out that he married another woman here in B C I was in shock,” said Wang, who immediately flew to Vancouver to confront herhusband,aCanadianpermanentresident

Despite his declarations, Wang reported the situation to the RCMP, who told the News they are also investigating the man for possible immigration fraud, which would involve the Canada Border Services Agency.

“I still can’t wrap my head around how this could happen. How could he get married twice with no one questioning it? Don’t they check the person’s status when they register for marriage here ?” said Wang

“I kept asking, why did this happen to me? I want to raise this issue because I don’t want other victims to experience the same...”

Wang’s husband, whose business has since gone under, has left for China “to take care of his elderly father,” according to Wang, who provided her husband with financial support throughout their three-year relationship.

In a statement provided to the News, the B.C. Ministry of Health said “it is the appli-

“As the agency has no role or authority regarding the Federal Divorce Act legislation or other verification rules to confirm an individual’s freedom and legal capacity to marry, it relies on the information and declaration provided by an applicant. This is similar to other jurisdictions,” said the statement

The ministry said the Vital Statistics Agency is not authorized to confirm the details of cases due to privacy requirements

Lawyer Lawrence Wong, of Lawrence Wong & Associates, said it’s not easy for the registry office to get an applicant’s complete vital statistics records under the current system.

“Divorcing is a federal matter and marriage is a provincial matter, so the registry might not have access to someone’s divorce record,” said Wong “Plus, it won’t show if the person gets divorced abroad.”

Despite everything that has happened, Wang said, if her husband is willing to admit his mistake, she will consider giving him another chance