Thaindian News

London, Dec 3 (IANS) A Pakistani man kept a list to memorise his bride-to-be’s details in a fake marriage in Britain, police said.

Fraudster Ijaz Khalid, 28, was all set to wed Czech Michaela Sivakova, 22, when officials swooped in on their wedding after a tip-off, Daily Mail reported Friday.

Police arrested the pair, along with the bride’s parents Ruzena Sivokava, 41, and 47-year-old Michal Sivak at Calderdale Register Office in Halifax before the ceremony was completed.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Khalid had been in Britain since 2007 but his visa had expired at the time of the fake marriage in June.

Kitty Taylor, prosecuting, revealed that Khalid’s desperate attempts to stay in the country saw him apply for a marriage certificate with another Czech woman in April, even though he told police he had been in a relationship with his bride-to-be Sivakova for months.

Khalid told police he had fallen for his bride since meeting her in January at a coffee shop in Bradford.

But when police searched his car they found a crib sheet containing information about Sivakova, details of this fake meeting and the bride’s bank details, according to the Mail.

Mobile phone details of all four revealed the first contact between the families was just four weeks before the wedding.

Both Khalid, of Watford, and mother-of-one Sivakova, of Halifax, were charged with a conspiracy intended to breach immigration laws, and signing false statements of intention to marry.

Khalid was jailed for 18 months, while Sivakova was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, along with 175 hours community service and a three-month curfew.

Judge John Potter told her she only escaped jail because of her daughter.