Macau, China, 19 Mar – Macau’s former Secretary of State for Transport and Public Works, Ao Man Long, apologised in court for the negative effects his behaviour had on the region’s image while he was a member of the government.
In the final allegations of his second trail, which took place on Wednesday, Ao Man Long, who held his post in the government between 20 December, 1999, and 6 December, 2006 (the day he was detained), said he regretted his actions.
For Macau’s Public Prosecution Service, the crimes that the former secretary is being accused of were all proven, and that is why it requested a heavy sentence for the former government official. However, the request will have little effect in practice, as Ao Man Long can only be sentenced to a further three years in jail, on top of the 27-year prison sentence that he received in his first trial.
As the second trial has concluded, the group of judges are going to meet to make a decision, though no date has yet been set to announce the sentence.
In this second trial Ao Man Long is accused of 19 counts of bribery, five crimes of money laundering and four counts of abuse of power. The former government official is due to sit through a third trial in the Court of Final Appeal, and may be accused more times, as the investigation being carried out on his case is only due to conclude mid-year.
Ao Man Long is the first high-level government official of the Special Administrative Region of Macau to be detained, tried and sentenced for bribery, money laundering and abuse of power.
(MacauNews)
