Commission Against Corruption, Macao SAR

The 7 accused involved in the corruption case of the ex-Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long were sentenced today (4^th June) by the Collegial Bench of the Court of First Instance. Ao Man Long¡¦s wife, Chan Meng Ieng, brother, Ao Man Fu, sister-in-law, Ao Chan Wa Choi and father, Ao Veng Kong were convicted of money laundering and were sentenced to imprisonments of 23 years, 18 years, 13 years and 10 years respectively. The 3 businessmen who were accused of bribing Ao Man Long ¡V Ho Meng Fai, Chan Tong Sang, Frederico Marques Nolasco da Silva ¡V were convicted of money laundering and giving bribes. Ho Meng Fai was sentenced to an imprisonment of 25 years and was ordered to pay a compensation of MOP50 million (approximately 6.25 million US dollars) to the Macao SAR government. Chan Tong Sang was sentenced to an imprisonment of 7 years and was ordered to pay a compensation of MOP20 million (approximately 2.5 million US dollars) to the Macao SAR government. Frederico Marques Nolasco da Silva was sentenced to an imprisonment of 10 years and was ordered to pay a compensation of MOP30 million (approximately 3.75 million US dollars) to the Macao SAR government. The bribe of over MOP6 million given by Frederico Marques Nolasco da Silva was confiscated and the intended bribe of over MOP40 million (approximately 5 million US dollars) that he promised to give Ao Man Long was to be paid to the Macao SAR government.

When sentencing, the Collegial Bench indicated that most of the crimes allegedly committed by the accused proved factual after hearing statements of a number of witnesses, including investigators of the CCAC, top-ranking officials of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau and staff members of the Infrastructure Development Office during days of trials and after analyzing the relevant case files and exhibits.

The judges of the Collegial Bench mentioned that the family members of Ao Man Long, including Chan Meng Ieng, Ao Man Fu, Ao Chan Wai Choi and Ao Veng Kong, were well aware of Ao Man Long¡¦s abuse of authority to engage in illicit activities. Their level of willfulness was high and serious. The judges also pointed out that the accused had assisted Ao Man Long to avoid legal consequences and enabled him to conceal the illegal proceeds, thus strengthening his determination to take bribes. Their acts had severely hurt the government¡¦s image and weakened the society¡¦s confidence in the rule of law. The 3 businessmen¡¦s acts of bribing government official to win construction contracts had increased the costs of constructions, sacrificed public interest and violated the principles of fairness, justice and openness in public tenders. Their acts had hindered social progress and caused a significantly negative impact on the Macao SAR government.

Since some Ao Man Long¡¦s behaviors did not constitute illegal acts, the Court judged some of the offences as giving bribes for performing legal acts.

Moreover, the Collegial Bench decided to confiscate the properties of Ao¡¦s family members involved in the case. Frederico Marques Nolasco da Silva lodged an appeal after the sentence was pronounced. He was ordered to pay an additional bail of MOP200,000 pending appeal and to surrender his travel documents to forbid him to leave the territory.

Investigations into the massive corruption of Ao Man Long¡¦s case began in 2005. Based on information gathered, the CCAC was looking into a corruption case when it discovered that Ao Man Long, the then-Secretary for Transport and Public Works, had allegedly abused his authority to accept bribes from construction businessmen and to award major public construction projects to them in return.

During subsequent investigations, the CCAC arrested Ao Man Long and other suspects in the case, including his brother Ao Man Fu, sister-in-law Ao Chan Wa Choi, father Ao Veng Kong and businessmen Ho Meng Fai, Chan Tong Sang and Frederico Marques Nolasco da Silva. The suspects were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office, while Ao Man Long was remanded in custody in the Macao Prison.

In April 2007, the CCAC completed the first phase of investigation into Ao¡¦s case.It was revealed that Ao possessed assets of over 800 million patacas in total when he held the position as the Secretary for Transport and Public Works. Items seized from his house included cash, bonds, expensive seafood products, luxury watches, top-end wines, etc, the total value of which was 57 times the total salary he received as Secretary.

Ao Man Long was the highest-ranking official ever arrested after the Handover of Macau.The law stipulates that charges against principal officials shall be tried at the Court of Final Appeal, while other accused like Ao Man Long¡¦s family members and the businessmen involved shall be tried at the Court of First Instance in accordance with normal judicial procedure.On 30^th January 2008, Ao Man Long was found guilty of 57 counts of passive corruption, abuse of power, money laundering and unjustified wealth by the Court of Final Appeal.He was sentenced to an imprisonment of 27 years and was ordered to pay a compensation of MOP240,000 to the Macao SAR government.His corrupt proceeds were all confiscated.

Chan Meng Ieng, Ho Meng Fai and Chan Tong Sang were absent from trial.