Ex-chief prosecutor Ho Chio Meng’s new lawyer says she is readying herself for a “complex and lengthy” trial, the Portuguese-language Jornal Tribuna de Macau reported on Tuesday.
Oriana Inácio Pun also told the newspaper that all the members of her law firm – three lawyers and three interns – would work on the high-profile case. She also said she didn’t know when the trial would recommence.
Pun is a member of Pun Choi & Chan.
Pun was quoted by government-owned broadcaster TDM as saying that the court had given her a fortnight to go through Ho’s sizeable charge sheet. Pun told TDM’s Portuguese-language radio channel that two weeks were “short for analysing a case of this dimension.”
Ho hired Pun on Monday after his previous attorney Leong Veng Pun threw in the towel last Wednesday, telling the court that he was unable to carry out his duties. He also questioned whether the court was biased.
Ho’s trial began on December 9. He stands accused of more than 1,500 crimes including abuse of power, organised crime leadership, money laundering, illicit participation in business activities and aggravated fraud.
Ho, who headed the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for 15 years, is being tried by Macau’s top court because of his former position as a principal official of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR).
The former deputy chief of Macau’s anti-graft body has been in custody since his arrest in February 2016 when he held a senior position in the Public Prosecution Office. He has denied any wrongdoing.
His wife and a number of alleged accomplices are being tried by the Court of First Instance.
(Macau News)
