A man who committed an act of bigamy – being married to two women at the same time – was recently sentenced and fined for the offence.
Michael Junior Wong appeared before High Court Justice Ann Marie Smith, on January 27, on a charge of bigamy to which he pleaded guilty.
The Judge imposed a fine of $7,000, to be paid on or before April 28. If Wong fails to pay the sum, he will be imprisoned for one year.
Wong, who was married to a woman in Trinidad, is reported to have moved to Antigua and married another woman whom he had dated for less than a month.
Allegations are that while he was dating the local woman he told her that he had been divorced. However, when she requested proof of his claim, he alleged that it had been stolen, along with other documents.
Further, he is alleged to have told her that a law firm had authenticated the divorce proceedings; however, he was unable to get an appointment with the lawyer before the wedding, which took place in July 2018.
The Antiguan wife reportedly made further attempts to get verification of Wong’s divorce – even asking his father, who allegedly told her there was no record of a divorce in his son’s name.
When confronted, Wong reportedly told his new wife that he might have gotten falsified documents, and he agreed to take the necessary steps to get a divorce from his first wife.
He also promised to have the second marriage annulled and then remarry the Antiguan woman.
However, when his wife in Trinidad discovered that he was committing bigamy, that plan was thwarted; and, in early 2020, he reportedly moved out of the home he shared with the second wife to live in a shop the two co-owned.
The woman later went to the business and discovered that the locks had been changed. Subsequently, she decided to report to the Police that Wong had two wives.
Investigations were launched and the Police later arrested and charged Wong for committing the offence.
