Secretary for Transport and Public Works arrested for corruption

[ggaaxx]

My hat's off to the Macau government!

From blogmacau.info

Thursday, December 7

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long (歐文龍) has been arrested in connection with corruption.

The Macau Government has requested the Central Government to dismiss Ao's position as the Secretary. Ho Hau Wah (何厚鏵), the Chief Executive, will act as the Secretary for Transport for Public Works for the time being.

The case was announced at a press conference that was chaired by the Chief Executive and Cheong U (張裕), Commissioner Against Corruption, at 1100 this morning.

More people in Macau and Hong Kong may be involved in the case, and further investigations are under way, but Cheong refused to say whether officials are involved in this scandal, nor did he give further details on how much money was involved.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong was also invited to investigate the case.

In a press release that was published after the press conference, investigators of the Commission arrested Ao at 2200 last night.

This is the most serious corruption scandal exposed after the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region.

Ao, 50, has served the Government for 20 years, working for the Municipal Council of Macau and the Incinerator and Waste Water Treatment Works Office before Reunification.

He had been the Secretary for Transport and Public Works since 20 December 1999.

Update 2: Mainland Chinese state Xinhua News Agency has published a report on Ao's detention at noon.

[Portugues]

I remember to hear former Transportation and Public Works of Macau Alves Paula telling to Mr Ao Man Long to be careful. Hong Kong construction lobby is quite strong in Macau. It's a shame.

[ggaaxx]

Here are some updates for this scandal.

From BlogMacau.info

- The Chief Executive met officials at 1800, notifying them the decision by the Central Government that agreed the dismissal of Ao Man Long as the Secretary for Transport and Public Works. Before this he had met officials at the transport and public works area, in fact straight after the press conference in the morning.

He told them that the incident is "heart-breaking", and appealed to them to look at it "objectively", and to pay attention to the latest developments as well as to reject hearsays.

He also assured that all projects and operations will not be affected as a result of Ao's arrest.

The Chief Executive cancelled his engagements this afternoon, including the opening ceremony of the First Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities of Macau this afternoon.

- Ao's case will be tried directly at the Court of Final Appeal. The file has been transferred from the Prosecutor-General to the Office of the Court. The reason why Ao will be tried this way is because he was a principal official of the Macau Special Administrative Region.

- State-owned Xinhua News Agency in Beijing announced at 2200 on 7 December that the State Council has decided that Ao was exonerated as the Secretary for Transport and Public Works.

- More than 10 people, including businessmen from the construction sector, especially in infrastructure projects were involved in the case. Ao's family is also involved in the scandal.

- Unconfirmed reports suggest that Ao has transferred "hundreds of millions" of Patacas from a Hong Kong company to bank accounts in London, the key by which the scandal was exposed.

- Hong Kong's Commissioner Against Corruption, Fanny Law (羅范椒芬), refused to provide more details on the investigation.

- The Office for the Development of Infrastructure clarified in a consultative session that the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) project is unrelated to the scandal, and refused to comment on anything besides the project.

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A summary of developments on the scandal involving the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works:

- Ao appeared in the Public Prosecutor this morning for questioning. He is currently pending for official charges. Appearing as well are 11 other people, including Ao's father, younger brother and his wife. The licence holder of a construction firm that was once responsible for several public infrastructure projects also appeared at the Public Prosecutor.

The Public Prosecutor will review the evidence to decide whether to charge Mr. Ao. His case will then be transferred to the Court of Final Appeal, which will decide whether Ao will be released on bail or detained for trial.

- The Commission Against Corruption released more details regarding the scandal.

A report was received by the Commission last weekend, and it took immediate action for more than 150 hours, including searching at the Secretary's office and his residence.

More than MOP 100,000 of cash and relevant documents were found in an office address. The Commission claimed that the information meets with a recently followed case.

Through the help of his relatives, Ao registered a number of shelf companies abroad to launder the bribes.

The Commission believes that further developments for the investigation are likely.

[Portugues]

According to Lusa Agency, no other Secretary or Service Director is linked to this case.

[ggaaxx]

Sources revealed a major mainland Chinese firm is involved in bribing Ao Man Long to win public construction projects in Macau.

Jornal Va Kio reported that the Macau branch manager of Chon Tit (中鐵) was sent to the Public Prosecutor yesterday (8 December). This is the first time a mainland Chinese firm in Macau is found involved in a corruption scandal.

The manager will also be referred to the Criminal Court today.

Meanwhile, the Court of Final Appeal began the preliminary hearing process on Ao and his family from 1630 yesterday. The hearing has continued overnight.

According to the press release of the Commission Against Corruption, it has investigated Ao Man Long on his activities for a while.

The only clue the Commission missed was the flow of his bribes.

The clue was discovered when the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong was tracking an abnormal flow of funds from an account whose surname is different from the English translation of "歐", with English being "Au" and Portuguese being "Ao".

The Macao Daily News reported that "billions" of Patacas may be involved in this scandal.

Sources also told the newspaper that several people in the construction and real estate sectors have lost contact since the scandal was exposed, while some other people were refused applications of personal protection orders.

Mr. Ao's wife has returned to Macau from the UK to assist investigations, according to Hong Kong's Apple Daily report.

Meanwhile, the local construction firm that was involved in the scandal, whose boss was also charged, is known as the "San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company Limited" (新明輝建築工程有限公司).

The firm did not win any of the Government's construction projects before Reunification, whilst it won 15 projects after that, 12 of which were out-contracted by agencies under Ao's administration. At least billions of Patacas were involved in these projects.

The firm is also involved in the construction of Star World Hotel, where rumours over its structure were once the focal point of discussions. However, the permit of usage was eventually granted.

The Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah (何厚鏵) said that Ao's incident is a "test" for the society and the Government.

He expressed confidence that the society will be more confident on its developments after this.

The population is also discussing the scandal, some appealing to the Government to withdraw certain decisions that are deemed controversial, especially authorisations to build apartments that will block the view of the Guia Lighthouse, and the refuse collection system in Areia Preta.

Suggestions also include review of the anti-corruption measures.

[ggaaxx]

The Court of Final Appeal has established the case of the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Ao Man Long, a prima facie.

He has been sent to the prison in Coloane at about 0600 this morning to wait for further trials.

His brother and wife were also found their case prima facie, and were also sent to prison for further trials. The others were released on bail, on the condition that they cannot leave Macau and make contact with each other.

The Commission Against Corruption continues to investigate the case.

Hong Kong's TVB news reported that Mr. Ao's defence lawyer is Luís Mendonça Freitas, who was the former Commissioner Against Corruption and Administrative Irregularities between 1995 and 1999. Before that Mr. Freitas was the Director of the Judiciary Police.

[ggaaxx]

Ao is currently waiting for further trials in an independent cell in Coloane prison, spending his 50th birthday today there.

According to Jornal Va Kio report, the Macau Prison has arranged an independent cell for Mr. Ao, which is located on the same floor as the medical room. The storey where this cell is located has four cells altogether, the rest of the three have also been vacated.

Since the medical room is monitored 24 hours a day, inmates will not have the opportunity to make contacts with him.

It is also known that magazines, newspapers and a TV set is available at a room outside Mr. Ao's cell, where his is allowed to go out to relax at break time.

However, his other arrangements, including meal, rest and visiting times, will be the same as other inmates.

In contrast to earlier reports from Hong Kong that Ao's wife has returned to Macau to help investigations, sources told the newspaper that the Commission Against Corruption may want her to return to Macau through Interpol, suggesting that she is still in the UK.

On the other hand, investigators from Macau and Hong Kong have found at least MOP 100 million in cash in different locations. Banknote counting machines are on urgent demand by the authorities as a result of the amount of cash uncovered, according to Macao Daily News.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for the Administration and Justice, Florinda Chan, appealed to civil servants not to be affected by the negative events.

Legislator Ng Kuok Cheong (吳國昌) demanded the Chief Executive to meet with legislators in a plenary session to explain the case.

Kwan Tsui Hang (關翠杏) hoped the Central Government to pay attention to the discipline of the personnel of the mainland Chinese firms in Macau.

[ggaaxx]

A central government official commented for the first time the scandal of the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works.

Director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Macau, Bai Zhijian (白志健), said that all Macau companies, whether they have Chinese or foreign capitals, must obey the laws of Macau, and that any companies that break the law must be penalised.

He believed that the Macau Government will close the loophole through the incident and elevate the level of governance, whilst admitted that the scandal has brought negative effects to the image and authority of the Macau Government.

In other developments of the scandal:

- The defending lawyer of Mr. Ao claimed that his client's case was "mishandled". The Macao Daily News reported that Luís Mendonça Freitas said that the authorities did not consider the feelings of his client by exposing the entire process of transfer from the Public Prosecutor to the Court of Final Appeal, and the hearing that took more than 12 hours had made him too tired.

- The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Chui Sai On (崔世安), and the former president of the Macau East Asian Games Organising Committee Manuel Silvério refused to comment to Mr Ao's incident. The two are involved in the organisation of the East Asian Games, whose infrastructure projects are involved in the scandal.

- The senior deputy executive director of Galaxy Casinos, Au Chung On (歐中安) also refused to comment on whether his company's projects will be affected as a result of the contractor being involved in the scandal. He only said that they believed the Government is "very fair" and have confidence on it.

[ggaaxx]

This scandal is becoming more interesting, more and more people are involved.

The latest developments on the case of the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works:

- Ao Man Long denied charges of corruption when tried at the Court of Final Appeal on 8 December, according to the Portuguese-language Jornal Tribuna de Macau.

- Legislators Ng Kuok Cheong (吳國昌) and Au Kam San (區錦新) sent a letter to President Susana Chou (曹其真) to ask her to consider convening an urgent session at the Legislative Assembly and invite the Chief Executive to attend that session to explain the case.

However, according to existing rules, the President of the Legislative Assembly does not have the power to invite the Chief Executive to explain something at a session. It is entirely at the Chief Executive's initiative to come to the Legislative Assembly, hence Ng and Au's intention will very much depend on him.

- It is expected that Ao Man Long's case may be tried next year, according to Jornal Va Kio's report. This is because the Commission Against Corruption is still investigating the case and further judicial prosecution procedures are needed.

- Luís Mendoça Freitas, the defending lawyer for Mr. Ao, may appeal for the Court of Final Appeal's decision to detain him for further trials. He has not yet sent any documents of appeal yet, but he still has about a week to do so.

- Anselmo Teng (丁連星), President of the Macau Monetary Authority, said that Macau's financial system is operating as normal "for the time being" and is unaffected by Ao's case. He emphasised that the Authority regulates Macau's financial activities in accordance with international standards.

- The Chinese Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has sent inspectors to understand the case, according to Hong Kong's Oriental Daily report.

- The same newspaper also reported that the Secretary for the Economy and Finance Tam Pak Yuen (譚伯源) had flown to Beijing in secret on 9 December. He returned to Macau on the same day. No details were given on the purpose of his visit.

- Ma Chi Keong (馬志強), director of the Macau branch of the Sun Hung Kai Investment Services Limited (新鴻基投資服務有限公司) in Macau, went missing before the arrest of Mr. Ao, according to Oriental Daily. Sun Hung Kai has reported to the police on 4 December, and refused to comment on whether his disappearance is connected to Ao's corruption case.

[ggaaxx]

Ao Man Long's involvement in corruption and illegal financial manipulation is not likely to be tried in a short time, according to report.

The Portuguese-language Jornal Tribuna de Macau quoted a source from the Court of Final Appeal as saying that the exact date of hearing has not been finally set. The Court is currently waiting for the defending lawyer to appeal for Mr. Ao's detention at Coloane prison.

Luís Mendoça Freitas, the defending lawyer, also predicted that his client's trial will begin "in eight to nine months".

Meanwhile, a legal expert told Hoje Macau that although the judicial procedures for Ao's case will speed up because of his detention, the final verdict is unlikely to be delivered at least before the end of 2008.

The duration will even be longer if either side decided to appeal against the verdict.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported earlier that the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong had reported their findings on Ao Man Long to the Central Government.

The Central Government later pressed Macau Government to take action to arrest Mr. Ao, the report claimed.

[Portugues]

So Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong is the one who arrested Mr Ao Man Long, right?

[ggaaxx]

It sounded like the HK ICAC initiated this investigation. Since it is involving so many identities in Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland, this case becomes more publicized. My

[Portugues]

Good morning ggaaxx, it is very interesting to see that Independent Commission Against Corruption didnt communicated directly to Macau Gov but they went straight way to China Mainland Gov. I dont know if it is a correct procedure but I feel it could start a small conflict in the background between HK and Macau forces.

[SeeMacau]

if macau initiates this investigation first and hong kong ICAC didnt get involve at all, Mr Ao Man Long will probably not be arrest , so thanks for hk ICAC

[hkth]

Originally Posted by AsIaBoYz

if macau initiates this investigation first and hong kong ICAC didnt get involve at all, Mr Ao Man Long will probably not be arrest , so thanks for hk ICAC

That's why many HK and Macau residents call Macau's CCAC is a teethless tiger!!!

[SeeMacau]

who will be the next guy to get arrest??

[Portugues]

Originally Posted by hkth

That's why many HK and Macau residents call Macau's CCAC is a teethless tiger!!!

By the way lets hope that Comissariado Contra a Corrupção de Macau not start to look deep for the money coming from Hong Kong.

Who will be the next guy to get arrest? No one I hope.

[ggaaxx]

16 legislators made speeches on how the Government should improve the anti-corruption mechanism before the Order of the Day yesterday (13 December).

Lau Cheok Va (劉焯華), Kwan Tsui Hang (關翠杏), Leong Iok Va (梁玉華) and Lei Chong Cheng (李從正), pointed out that transparency in concessions and contracting are needed, and the functions of the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) and the Audit Commission (CA) should also be enhanced.

Ng Kuok Cheong (吳國昌) and Au Kam San (區錦新) appealed to the Chief Executive to "put down the interests at his back" by submitting to the legislature as soon as possible a legal framework governing budgets. The Legislative Assembly should be given power to deliberate budgets for major public projects, so that overspending and corruption can be avoided.

Chan Meng Kam (陳明金) and Ung Choi Kun (吳在權) pointed out that the public should not "smear" the Government because of the Ao Man Long case.

Leong On Kei (梁安琪) said that Ao Man Long's case shows that there are a lot of grey areas in Macau's law and administrative mechanism.

José Chui (崔世平) and Lei Pui Lam (李沛霖) suggested to the Chief Executive to come to the Legislative Assembly to explain the case after the trial completed. They also pointed out that the case shows that the foundation for anti-corruption in Macau is unshaken.

Chan Chak Mo (陳澤武) and Ieong Tou Hong (楊道匡) said that education, institutions and monitoring need to be enhanced, and pointed out that it is not a suitable time yet to invite the Chief Executive to explain the case at the Legislative Assembly.

Iong Veng Ian (容永恩) and Leong Heng Teng (梁慶庭) expressed full support to the Government in combating corruption.

Cheung Lup Kwan (張立群) said that what the Government should do now is to face the problems and reform accordingly.

[ggaaxx]

Originally Posted by AsIaBoYz

who will be the next guy to get arrest??

I doubt anyone will be arrested after all. I'm just being sarcastic.

[ggaaxx]

Authorities in the UK were the first to find out that the former Secretary for Transport and Public Works might be suspicious in corruption activities.

According to reports from the Portuguese-language newspaper Hoje Macau yesterday (18 December), a bank in London received nine cheques with significant amounts, which alerted the authorities.

The case was then referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong, which launched an investigation.

The ICAC later established that the cheques were connected with Ao Man Long, by requesting Beijing to intervene, so that they can extend their investigations to Macau.

After collecting sufficient evidence, the ICAC referred them to the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) in Macau.

Both ICAC and CCAC are still questioning the suspects in order to find out where the bribes came from.

Meanwhile, it is suggested that Ao has at least a house in London worth at least £7 million.