Alleged vote buying case is on trial

The biggest winner in the last Legislative Assembly (AL) election, the 13th team led by lawmakers Chan Meng Kam, Si Ka Lon and Song Pek Kei, is allegedly involved in an election bribery dispute. Two of its mobilizing staffers are being prosecuted for organizing free feasts and transportation for voters. A judgment in the ongoing trial that continued on Tuesday at the Court of First Instance is expected to be announced in mid July.
The campaign team, namely the Association of United Citizens of Macau, was representing the traditional association Aliança de Povo de Instituição de Macau (API) that was headed by Si Ka Lon and Song Pek Kei. The team secured 17 percent of the total votes and thus three seats in the AL.
The alleged bribery was revealed when a Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) officer received a campaign phone call from a 67 year-old housewife surnamed Wong, who was instructed by a 64-year-old API clerk surnamed Ho to assist in mobilizing the associations’ members. Ho was allegedly calling the members and appealing to them to mobilize their families to vote for the team on polling day, where they would be offered a free feast and transportation to two upscale restaurants.
The defense lawyers claimed that the authorities’ investigation into the case was inadequate and partial, while the prosecutor stated in the closing arguments that the two defendants’ alleged acts could be confirmed by call records, contact lists, and the CCAC officer’s testimony. BY