BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 13, 2017–Yuanran Zheng, 45, the Chinese national who was busted on Monday, Nov. 6, with a fraudulent nationality certificate, left Belize on Friday, en route to Canada. Zheng was given an OTL (Order To Leave) by the Department of Immigration; instead of being deported, however, he opted to leave on his own accord.

In our previous edition of the Amandala, we told you that Zheng entered Belize from the United States on Sunday, Nov 5.

On Monday, he and Taiwanese Belizean national, Sheng-Hui Lin, went to the Social Security Board (SSB) headquarters in Belmopan to apply for a Social Security card.

However, his nationality certificate appeared suspect, and so authorities at SSB quickly contacted the Immigration Department, who then confirmed that the certificate was fraudulent.

As a result, Zheng was charged with the Immigration offences of “Uttering on a Forged Document”, and “Using a Forged Document,” while Lin was charged for “Assisting a person to use a fraudulent document.”

On Tuesday, they both appeared before Magistrate Emmerita Anderson in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court, where they both pleaded guilty and were fined $1,000 each, plus $5 for the cost of court.

Still, they remained in police custody until Thursday, when Zheng appeared before Magistrate Ladonna John in Belmopan and pleaded guilty to the Social Security offence of “producing a document he knew to be false,” which was the nationality certificate he used to apply for the Social Security card.

Zheng was subsequently fined $800 plus $5 for the cost of court. He and Lin remained in custody until Friday when he left the country for home.

Lin, after paying his fine, was freed, and he returned to Camalote, where he lived.

While Zheng has come to the end of his woes in Belize, Lin’s legal troubles seem to be just beginning.  A search of his house in Camalote earlier this week led to the discovery of falsified Social Security cards.

According to police, Lin may face additional charges pending investigation.