THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday prevented the departure to Fujian, China, of a Filipino woman and a Chinese man who were allegedly involved in a mail-order bride scam.

The two said they were married inside a travel agency office in Manila. But after thorough interrogation, the woman admitted to paying P100,000 for the processing of a genuine marriage document with fake details.

"This is yet again another case of the mail-order-bride scheme wherein women are promised a better life abroad but are made to work as domestic workers with little to no salaries," Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.

Commissioner Norman Tansingco. Photo from Bureau of Immigration

"This is very concerning, since they are able to present authentic documents despite their sham marriages," added Tansingco, noting the case was reported to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking so charges can be filed against the perpetrators.