Xianxing Lu, a Chinese man, has been left free even after paying €20000 to obtain an Irish passport illegally. He told Garda that his visa had expired and as a result he paid money to a man which he felt was genuine.
The man he approached told that he was a government official and everything was legal. Lu got a fake certificate of naturalization which he used unknowingly to apply for a passport. He was taken by Garda for submitting false documents.
Lu told the Garda that his visa expired after two months from the birth of his child. He couldn’t gei it renewed and asked for help to his friends. He written to the Department of Justice too. One of his friends told him that she got an original legal Irish passport with the help of an Irish man. Lu met the Irish man who cheated him and he gave the fake certificate of naturalization.
The counsel admitted that what happened was a fraudulent practice which was very unusual for them. Lu’s solicitor asked the court to deny the custodial sanction. The court said that Lu could only believe the way which came before him at that situation. Court admitted that it was not Lu who was the victim of this fraud but the State is