Ho Chio Meng, Macau’s former prosecutor general who once was considered a possible candidate for the chief executive position, is under investigation for alleged graft, according to the Shanghai Daily. Ho was once considered a challenger to Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On before Chui sought re-election in 2014.
In a statement on its website, the Commission against Corruption announced it had initiated a criminal probe of “former leadership staff of the Public Prosecutions Office.” The unnamed suspects allegedly received 44 million patacas (US$5.5 million) in illegal funds from public work contracts worth more than 167 million patacas. Sources told the newspaper that Ho is the top official under investigation. The Macau Daily Times reported that Ho was detained as he tried to leave Macau for Hong Kong by ferry.
The suspect is alleged to have illegally awarded 2,000 public contracts to local businessmen between 2004 and 2014, said CCAC Commissioner André Cheong Weng Chon. A press release further indicated that three former public officials committed “fraud, unlawful economic advantage, abuse of power and document forgery.”
The prosecution of corruption cases has stepped up since June 2014, when Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to crack down on money laundering and graft linked to Macau’s gaming industry. While there were no such cases that year, in 2015 nine people including government officials were questioned about bribery. The anti-corruption campaign also scared off high rollers who once patronized the territory’s casinos, and eventually sent Macau’s No. 1 industry into recession, now approaching its 21st month.
