Case witness detained for perjury

A witness for the junket mogul Alvin Chau’s case was detained by the Public Prosecutions Office yesterday for alleged perjury.

The lower court continued the trial of the Suncity case, involving 21 defendants. A number of witnesses have been called to testify, including former employees of the defunct company.

Yesterday, the fourth witness, a former Suncity marketing employee surnamed Lai, was questioned on whether parallel betting was part of the junket’s operations, to which she responded that it was not. 

She was then reminded by prosecutor Lai U Hou to speak the truth as she had sworn to do so. She insisted that Suncity did not operate parallel betting. 

The prosecutor then questioned her on whether she had made a false statement, as cited in a report issued by the Macao Daily News.

She was then detained after being accused of fabricating the truth.

As cited in the report, the prosecutor said, “I prove that you are false” and reminded her that she has the right to hire a lawyer and remain silent.

Last month during the second session of the trial, Chau told the court that parallel gaming activities in local casino VIP rooms had been taking place for a very long time, even before Macau’s handover. 

Chau noted that the activity, despite not being legal, could never be conducted in a covert manner and without the knowledge of those involved in the gaming business (namely the concessionaires), as they were needed to facilitate such activities. LV