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Ex-official in Macau guilty of corruption, gets 27 years

Macau's highest court sentenced a former minister to 27 years in jail yesterday for taking tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks, in the gambling enclave's largest corruption case.

Ao Man-long (歐文龍), a former transport and public works secretary, was found guilty on 57 counts of taking bribes, laundering money and abusing his power to help property developers win lucrative construction tenders.

"The court ruled according to the law -- I think it was very just," Chief Executive Edmund Ho (何厚鏵) told reporters in Guangzhou where he was meeting government officials.

Ao was the highest level official ever sentenced for graft and his trial came as the former Portuguese territory tries to shrug off a reputation for organized crime and reinvent itself as holiday destination in the image of Las Vegas.

In recent years, Macau -- the only place in China where casino gambling is legal -- has drawn several high profile Las Vegas operators who have invested billions of dollars in building upscale casino resorts to attract China's newly rich. Ao was accused of handing some of those construction contracts to firms in return for kickbacks.

He stood as the three-judge panel delivered its verdict at the territory's highest court, before being escorted out of the packed courtroom by two security guards.

Judges accused Ao of "greed" and "shocking" behavior that had smeared the reputation of Macau and its government.

Ao's lawyer, Nuno Simoes, said the severity of the sentence meant they were entitled to an appeal.

Under Macanese law, Ao could have received a 30-year sentence.

He was tried in the territory's highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, because of his seniority. It was not clear which court would be allowed to hear any appeal in the case.

Ao, who was arrested in December 2006, denied any wrongdoing throughout the monthlong trial.

In a four-month investigation, anti-graft officials said they discovered assets worth about 800 million patacas (US$99.5 million), more than 57 times what Ao and his family could have earned over a seven-year period.

During sentencing the judges said assets worth 250 million patacas would be confiscated, as well as properties Ao bought in London, Macau and Hong Kong.

Investigators would also seek cooperation from the Virgin Islands where Ao set up companies with the intent to launder his ill-gotten gains, they said.

Some of Ao's family, including his father and wife, and four business associates also face a range of money-laundering charges linked to Ao's case, but in a separate trial.
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