A Henan province man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for smuggling people from Shanghai to South Korea on a cruise ship, local media reported Monday.
The defendant, surnamed Wang, charged each of his clients 35,000 yuan ($5,746) to 45,000 yuan to get them into South Korea to find work, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post.
On March 10, Wang brought six people to Shanghai and put them on a cruise ship to South Korea, the report said.
He told them to dress like tourists and tell the immigration officers at the border that they came to the country on a trip organized by their employer. Once through, they could sneak off to find work.
South Korea allows cruise ship passengers to stay in the country for three days without a visa.
The plan didn't work. South Korean immigration officers at Jeju Island denied Wang's clients entry into the country and sent them back to China, the report said.
The Baoshan District People's Prosecutor's Office charged Wang with illegally organizing a national border crossing.
