Woman jailed over immigration offences

File photo / NZ Herald

An Auckland woman who brought Thai workers to New Zealand to work as massage therapists and then encouraged one to become a prostitute has been sent to jail.

Naengnoi Sriphet was sentenced to over two years in prison after she was found guilty of five offences under the Immigration Act.

A Thai national with New Zealand citizenship, Sriphet recruited and employed two workers from Thailand to work as massage therapists, under Immigration New Zealand's Essential Skills work policy.

In order for the two workers to be granted visas under the Essential Skills policy, they were required to show that they had appropriate qualifications and experience as Thai massage therapists.

Sriphet was also required to prove to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) that the job offer was for sustainable and full-time employment.

However, an investigation found she had provided the two employees with employment agreements in Thai which didn't meet New Zealand employment law.

The Thai agreements were very different to those she had provided to INZ in support of the visa applications.

Under the Thai contracts, the two employees were required to live at Sriphet's work premises, and would be fined if they gossiped about Sriphet, damaged her reputation, or failed to keep the premises clean.

Sriphet was found guilty of four charges of providing false or misleading information to INZ earlier this year, specifically, the provision of false employment agreements and offer of employment letters to the two employees.

Sriphet was also found guilty of one charge of aiding or inciting one of the employees to breach the conditions of her visa, by encouraging and facilitating her to work as a prostitute.

Under the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, a condition of every temporary visa is that the holder may not work in the sex industry.

She was sentenced in Auckland District Court this morning to a total of 27 months' in prison.

Alistair Murray, INZ Area Manager, said the sentence imposed on Sriphet showed how seriously this type of offending was taken.

It sent a strong message to any other employer tempted to undertake this type of "fraud and exploitation", he said.