S'porean man allegedly stuck in The Philippines after 'sham marriage'

A 50-year-old Singaporean man who supposedly moved to the Philippines to get married is now "stranded" and was staying at a mosque after alleging that his marriage turned out to be a sham.

The man, Hasbi, was staying at a mosque in Bohol, an island province in the Philippines.

His supposed plight was first revealed by 24-year-old TikToker @imcarrielaine04, whose real name is Carrie Laine Abad.

She is known for helping foreigners and travellers in the Philippines who are stranded to return to their home countries.

Realised marriage was fake

In her first video about Hasbi on Sep. 20, she explained how he believed his supposed marriage with his Filipina partner was real, but later discovered that it was fake.

He then supposedly stayed in a mosque to avoid becoming homeless, and became stranded in the country.

Since he wanted to return to Singapore, Abad said in the video that she would do her best to help bring him home.

Marriage plans

In the next video, Hasbi told Abad that since the process of getting married was supposedly "so long", the couple allegedly got married in the Philippines first.

They then planned to get married a second time in Singapore.

Noting that his partner allegedly left him, Hasbi added that he does not have a marriage certificate.

3 foreigners

In view of his situation, Abad told Hasbi over WhatsApp that she would pay for his flight from Bohol to Manila so they could approach immigration officials and the embassy to address the issue.

Another video showed her at the Bureau of Immigration to resolve this issue for Hasbi, as well as a Nigerian and American.

Abad also took Hasbi out to dine at a restaurant.

Immigration issues

Responding to Mothership's queries, Abad said Hasbi first arrived in the Philippines on Dec. 17, 2023.

She first met him in Bohol, Philippines, where he was staying in a mosque because he apparently had nowhere else to go and was at risk of becoming homeless.

"After learning about his situation, I booked a flight from Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to Bohol to visit him, understand his circumstances, and learn more about the challenges he was facing."

"I wanted to find out how I could help him return to Singapore."

Abad said she arranged and paid for his flight to Manila so that he could address his immigration issues and work towards resolving his situation.

"I am currently helping him with his daily necessities and accommodation while he goes through this difficult period," she said.

Passport

Abad added that though Hasbi supposedly still has a valid Singaporean passport, he had reportedly been pursuing an indigency (extreme poverty) process for a foreign national due to serious financial difficulties.

He also can apparently no longer afford to pay the fines required to resolve his immigration situation.

"I have been helping him with the indigency application in the hope that he can obtain the necessary consideration and clearance to leave the Philippines and return to Singapore," she said.

"The process has been challenging because of his financial circumstances, but I am supporting him as much as I can while he works through the necessary procedures with the immigration authorities."

Daily needs

Abad pointed out that Hasbi is doing better and less stressed than when he was staying at the mosque in Bohol.

"At that time, he rarely expressed himself, and I was concerned about his situation and well-being," she said.

On top of helping him meet his daily needs, including providing food and a place to stay, Abad said she also accompanies him whenever he needs to visit the immigration authorities.

She said: "As he is experiencing significant financial difficulties, I continue to support him as much as I can while he works towards resolving his immigration issues and returning to Singapore."