A MAN offered to sell his Shenzhen-registered license plate to a buyer by staging a fake marriage with the buyer, according to a local TV news report.

The city started limiting the number of new car licenses issued each year in late 2014. Potential car buyers can obtain a license plate through a monthly lottery or auction. The average bidding price for a license plate reached 50,000 yuan (US$7,576) last month. Also, it’s illegal for car owners to trade their license plates privately.

The man wrote a post online saying that he want to sell his Shenzhen-registered license plate because he is going to leave the city. He said he would get married with the buyer and transfer the license plate to her before getting a divorce, the TV news reported.

According to relevant regulations, a married person can transfer one license plate to his or her spouse if the spouse doesn’t have a license plate registered in the city. The man said the buyer would only have to pay 20,000 to 30,000 yuan for his license plate after they got a fake marriage.

According to a lawyer, if two people get married of their own accord, their marriage is legal. But he said a fake marriage comes with risks. For instance, if one side was indebted, the other side would also be responsible for repaying the debt after marriage.

The case has been reported to the city’s traffic police, but they hadn’t released a comment as of press time. (Zhang Yang)