Prosecutors mull Macau bribe charges

December 09, 2006

Macau's prosecutors were Friday examining evidence to determine whether to charge detained disgraced former transport minister Ao Man-long with corruption.

Ao, 50, who was arrested last Wednesday, and 11 other suspects were taken to the prosecution office in handcuffs, where evidence was laid out before them. They face allegations of taking and receiving bribes and of laundering money overseas through a network of bank accounts to disguise the transactions.

Among the suspects were Ao's father Ao Wing-kwong, younger brother Ao Man-fu and a sister-in-law.

A statement from Macau's Commission Against Corruption, or CCAC, named the alleged bribers as a merchant surnamed Ho, a general manager surnamed Ioeng and an accountant surnamed Leung, of a company contracted for big construction projects.

Ao and another eight men and three women were arrested Wednesday night following more than 150 hours of investigations launched last week, the statement said.

"According to [the] source of information, the CCAC suspected that someone had abused his position and power in order to accept bribes. He [Ao] registered some shell companies abroad and cleaned the corrupt money in a secretive and zig-zag way through bank account networks," it alleged.

It said police conducted raids on the suspects' homes and offices and found more than HK$97,000 worth of Macau patacas and Hong Kong dollars. Police also confiscated contracts in newly bought apartments.

"Someone admitted opening bank accounts to operate illegal financial activities, during the investigation," it added.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is cooperating in the investigation, refused to comment on, or confirm, that Hong Kong residents were among those arrested and that local bank accounts were being probed.

The merchant has been identified as Ho Meng-fai, president of San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company, one of the largest contractors in Macau.

Prior to the handover in 1999 San Meng Fai had not been involved in any government contract, but following the handover some 15 out of 24 construction projects conducted by the company, estimated to be worth at least HK$1 billion, had been awarded by the government, 12 of them by Ao's department.

A company spokesperson said San Meng Fai was one of the leading developers in Macau, responsible for many construction projects around the world, employing about 300 workers in Macau and at least 5,000 workers around the world.

According to the company Web site, San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company was established by Ho in 1982.

Describing the incident as heartbreaking, Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said the central government had agreed to the removal of Ao from official duties.

He stressed the government placed confidence in public servants and told them to look at the issue objectively, stay away from hearsay and stand by the facts, and be confident in the Judiciary to make a just judgment.

News of the arrests shocked the former Portuguese enclave, which has worked hard in recent years to shake off its reputation as a haven for gambling- related sleaze and criminality.

Since the handover central and local authorities have clamped down on loan sharks, pimps and triad gangs that flourished under Lisbon's lax control.

If Ao is charged, the case will be sent straight to the Court of Final Appeal due to his senior rank, in accordance with Macau law.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=33735&sid=11267427&con_type=1