Commission Against Corruption, Macao SAR

The Court of First Instance adjudicated today (8th) a case of bribery in election, first of its kind to be on trial in Macao's history. The first and prime accused Sio Hong Wai and the second accused Chong Wai Chun were found guilty of retention of voter cards and were sentenced to an immediate imprisonment of 1 year and 6 months and of 1 year and 4 months, respectively. The remaining 10 accused were found guilty of retention of voter cards or surrendering of voter cards, and were sentenced to an imprisonment of 1 year to 2 years or fined between MOP7,200 and MOP12,000 each.

The Commission Against Corruption received complaints in May 2005, indicating that a man surnamed Tai had been assisting a candidate of the Legislative Assembly Election to "buy votes" from others. Those who surrendered their voter cards received a reward of MOP500 but were required to vote for a specific group in the Legislative Assembly Election.

The CCAC investigators immediately commenced investigation and launched a series of operations on 23rd June 2005. The third accused Tai Chou Un was arrested when he was collecting voter's cards and delivering money in a restaurant in NAPE. The second accused Chong Wai Chun and some other accused were arrested in a game center in Areia Perta. A number of voter cards were found on Chong. Investigation revealed that the first accused Sio Hong Wai, whose hometown is Fujian, had been masterminding the scheme. In order to call for support for the candidate, Sio attempted to control the voters' voting orientation by "buying votes" with MOP500 through the network of his friend, the second accused Chong Wai Chun. The Commission completed the investigation and transferred the case to the Public Prosecutions Office in June 2005.

The court hearing began on 18th October 2006. All accused, except the first two, admitted in court that they had received advantages to surrender or collect voter cards. Some confessed that after receiving the bribes, they would follow the instructions to vote for "Brother B of Golden Dragon" who was running for the election. Being questioned by the judge, certain accused confessed to knowing that "Brother B" referred to Chan Meng Kum. During the trial, the judge and the prosecutor questioned many times the logic of the statements made by the first two accused and commented that their testimonies failed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship and thus could hardly be accepted by the court.

The first two accused denied the charges in the indictment. The first accused Sio Hong Wai claimed that he had asked the second accused Chong Wai Chun to collect voter cards for him, but mainly to "call for support" and "encourage" the voters to vote for the specific Fujian-born candidate. He said it was not "vote buying" and the money given to Chong was merely a loan.

The second accused Chong Wai Chun claimed that he had voluntarily collected voter cards for Sio, thinking that he would later receive rewards from Sio, and thus made use of the several thousands dollars that Sio lent him to "buy votes". The judge and the prosecutor questioned about the second accused's motives behind reversing his testimony made earlier to the CCAC and the Public Prosecutions Office so as to bear the sole responsibility. Chong then argued that he was so frightened that he lied at that time.

In sentencing, the judge of the Collegial Bench said the contents in the indictments could be proved after examining the written documents and hearing the testimonies of the CCAC investigators and witnesses, despite the denial of the charges by the first two accused. The other 10 accused had confessed to the charges honestly. The court thus handed out sentences in consideration of the accused's intention, sense of remorse and past criminal records and on the principle of "being lenient towards those who confess their crimes".

The Collegial Bench emphasized that the criminal acts not only seriously affected the peace and stability of society, but also brought serious negative influence on the image of fairness of the Legislation Assembly Election. To safeguard public interest and maintain public confidence in the governance of the SAR, the accused should be severely condemned for the crimes committed.

Considering the deliberate intention of the first two accused in committing the crimes, the Collegial Bench announced the need to deprive them of their freedom. As for the other accused, it was believed that suspensions of imprisonment or fines were sufficient for the purpose of punishment.

The judges of the Collegial Bench announced penalties for the 12 accused as follows:

The first accused Sio Hong Wai (aged 25, a real estate broker): guilty of retention of voter cards, was sentenced to an imprisonment of 1 year and 6 months without suspension;

The second accused Chong Wai Chun (aged 22, a mineral water delivery man): guilty of retention of voter cards, was sentenced to an imprisonment of 1 year and 4 months without suspension;

The third accused Tai Chou Un (aged 18, a casino waiter): guilty of retention of voter cards, was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment with 4 years' suspension; a compensation of MOP10,000 must be paid within 3 months;

The fourth accused Lok Chan Fong (aged 20, a senior high school graduate-to-be): guilty of retention and submission of voter cards, was sentenced to a combined imprisonment of 1 year and 9 months with 3 years' suspension; a compensation of MOP5,000 must be paid within 3 months;

The fifth accused Ku Kin Long (aged 18, a casino dealer): guilty of retention of voter cards, was sentenced to 1 year's imprisonment with 3 years' suspension; a compensation of MOP5,000 must be paid within 3 months; his behaviour and progress of improvement were to be monitored regularly by the judges and the Rehabilitation Department during the suspension period;

The sixth accused Wong Sai Hong (aged 57, a renovation worker), the seventh accused Lei Weng Fat (aged 51, a renovation worker), the eighth accused Ho Chak Pan (aged 19, a hotel luggage carrier), the ninth accused Lam Pui Leng, (female, aged 47, a casino waitress) and the eleventh accused Wong Cheok Kit (aged 19, a casino dealer): guilty of submission of voter cards; the 5 accused were each liable to a fine of 120 days, at MOP100 per day, mounting to MOP12,000 in total; failure to pay the fines in due time will lead to an imprisonment of 80 days;

The tenth accused Kuok Si Ieng (female, aged 19, a senior high school graduate-to-be) and the twelfth accused Kuan Mou Keong (aged 22, a university student, with past criminal record of causing bodily harm in a traffic accident): guilty of submission of voter cards, both accused were liable to a fine of 120 days, at MOP60 per day, mounting to MOP7,200 in total; failure to pay the fines in due time will lead to an imprisonment of 80 days.

The first accused was absent from the trial. The lawyer of the second accused filed an appeal immediately after sentencing. The court ordered the second accused to pay a bail of MOP5,000 pending appeal and to submit his travel documents banning him from leaving Macao.