U.S. Embassy will pull visas of passport scammers

News 5’s continuing investigation into allegations of corruption in the issuing of Belizean passports has taken a new turn. Since no government official or immigration agent will speak on the record we have decided to seek the truth straight from the horse’s mouth–that is the passport holders themselves. Since all twenty-two of the adult applicants have ostensibly lived in Belize for the last five years, finding them should be no problem; the only hitch is that not one of the applicants has listed an address with a street number. Since walking the length of “Faber’s Road” or “Buttonwood Bay” in search of a freshly minted Belizean of Chinese or Arab ancestry would be a thankless task, we are asking viewers for some help. Coming up on your screen are the names, photos and street location of twenty-two recent passport applicants. If you see yourself on that list, or recognise anyone as a friend or neighbour, please call Channel 5 and help us get to the bottom of what remains as big a mystery as ever. Here’s the list:

Wang Hao-en, Twenty-five miles Western Highway

Lui Jianqiang, Faber’s Road

Jin Peiying, New Road

Chu Lo Min, Eighteenth St. King’s Park

Huang Hsiao-chu, Twenty-five miles Western Highway

Yang Shou-chien, Eighteenth St. King’s Park

Yang Chih-min, Eighteenth St. King’s Park

Wang Hsin-yu, Twenty-five miles Western Highway

Wang Ta-chang, Twenty-five miles Western Highway

Reem Bader Hirsh, Buttonwood Bay

Said Bader Hirsh, Buttonwood Bay

Bader Mohammad Said Hirsh, Buttonwood Bay

Suhaila Bader Hirsh, Buttonwood Bay

Ahmad Bader Hirsh, Buttonwood Bay

Zhho Changye, Freetown Road

Wu Canhuan, Two and a half miles Northern Highway

Lei Yingyi, Two and a half miles, Northern Highway

Liang Yanyi, Faber’s Road

Chen Keru, Freetown Road

Tan Jinfu, Two and a half miles Northern Highway

Cao Xinfeng, Pickstock Street

Chen Huiran, Pickstock Street

Remember, in looking for these people we are just trying to verify how they came by their passports and are in no way implying that they have done anything against the law. Again, that phone number to call is 227-7781 and ask for the news department.

Meanwhile, although we may be having some trouble in finding the new Belizeans, one place that they seem to find quickly is the United States Embassy. Sources on Gabourel Lane indicate that a number of applicants with recently dated passports have applied for visas to the States. While we do not know whether the visas have been granted, we did find out one bit of information that may prove interesting to anyone thinking of getting in on the passport pot of gold. A U.S. Embassy spokesman told News 5 that under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, anyone found to be involved in “alien smuggling”– which is defined as assisting people to get into the U.S.A. illegally–runs the risk of having their U.S. visa revoked. The spokesman said that people involved in the fraudulent selling of Belizean passports would fall into the category of alien smugglers.