Dispute over inheritance leads to detention of four individuals

Adispute over inheritance in the mainland, following the death of a Macau resident, has resulted in a series of complications and the subsequent arrest of four individuals. All suspects are alleged to have provided false declarations with the intent of securing the deceased’s inheritance, as revealed by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday during the routine joint police press conference.

The case originated from a complaint by the deceased’s nephew, the son of the deceased’s brother, who filed a complaint against his aunt (the younger sister of the deceased).

The allegations involve false declarations made by the woman and by three individuals she employed to take possession of three property units owned by the deceased in Macau.

According to PJ’s investigation, the case began when a 58-year-old man named Lok approached the deceased’s sister, Chan, at her brother’s funeral in 2016.

Lok informed Chan that given that the entire family except the deceased were mainland residents with no recorded presence in Macau, she could inherit the deceased’s entire estate, including three apartment units with an acquisition value of about MOP1 million each.

This man reportedly helped her secure “false witnesses” who provided misleading statements asserting that she was the sole known family member, enabling her to claim the inheritance without sharing it with the deceased’s other brother and his family.

After becoming aware of this fact in July last year, the nephew came to Macau and filed a complaint with the PJ against his aunt and the witnesses, prompting the PJ to investigate the case.

During the investigation, the PJ discovered that Chan rewarded Lok with MOP1 million for planning and executing all arrangements for her to acquire the properties in her name.

The other two detainees, identified as 65-year-old Chau and a 49-year-old Wong, are the witnesses implicated in making the false declarations.

Wong admitted to receiving MOP2,500 as compensation for his false testimony, while Chau declined to cooperate with the police.

A third witness remains at large. All the witnesses are residents of the mainland and were detained at different times upon entering Macau.

The case is now being referred to the Public Prosecutions Office for charges related to the crime of providing false declarations.