Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak Monday shot down a rumour circulating on the Internet that four US assassins were killed in a firefight in Macau in 2013.
Wong made the denial on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the opening of a fire station on the University of Macau’s (UM) Hengqin campus.
Several mainland Internet media websites, including Phoenix Satellite Television and Chinanews.com, reported recently that during Edward Snowden’s stay in Hong Kong in June 2013, the US fugitive was secretly transferred to a safe house in Macau where he was protected by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
However, according to the report, a US army assassination squad of 16, including two CIA agents, who were stationed in Hong Kong, attempted to take out Snowden. The CIA-headed team, the reports claimed, got into a firefight with PLA special forces near the unspecified safe house, and four of the assassination squad members were killed, including one of two CIA agents.
The origin of the rumour is unidentified, but it was allegedly started when the PLA stationed in Macau received a first class meritorious service medal in 2014, a medal that, according to Chinanews.com, is only awarded after a major successful operation.
The reports were later removed from both Phoenix Satellite Television’s website and Chinanews.com.
Wong flatly denied the Internet rumour. He said that “the police will know even if something happened to a kitten or a puppy in the city”, adding that it was impossible that such an incident could happen in Macau without anyone knowing.
A statement from Wong’s office last night added that after contacts and clarifications obtained from the local PLA garrison,“the rumours are absolutely unfounded.” (macaunews/macaupost)
