Courts | Police suicide thesis refuted

Five witnesses who knew Luís Amorim – a Portuguese teenager who died under suspicious circumstances in Macau in 2007 – told the Administrative Court that it would be “impossible” for him to have committed suicide as the police had claimed.
The deceased’s family no longer hopes for the case’s re-opening, as results may be difficult to achieve after six years. They are instead asking the court for compensation amounting to MOP15 million, alleging that gross errors were committed during the investigation conducted by local authorities.
After several postponements, the Administrative Court is analyzing the case in a trial. In a session this week, friends described the teenager as someone with a strong sense of character and future prospects, a good student with many friends.
“The Luis that I knew would never commit suicide. It is something that makes no sense at all for someone with his personality,” said António Aguiar, a family friend.
Other witnesses included two of the victim’s teachers, who mentioned how he was planning to travel on an upcoming graduation  trip. One of them, Maria Antónia Costa, described how she had bought him a ticket to the school ball and recalled the student’s answer: “Only because you bought me the ticket, you will see that I will bring you the homework on Sunday and I will be the student that you want me to be.” But “on Monday Luís was gone,” she bemoaned.
Another witness was a former journalist who followed the case closely. João Varela recalled how the deceased’s mother was called to the Judiciary Police because “a tragedy” had happened to her son. A man at the front desk told her, “Your son committed suicide, he jumped from the bridge.” This contradicts the police inspector’s statements, in which suicide was never the starting point for the investigation.
Several witnesses recounted how the family allegedly received a veiled threat when unspecified PJ investigators told Luís Amorim’s father that they should leave Macau, as they also have a daughter.   MDT/Lusa