Editorial | Sheriff gone rogue

Paulo Coutinho

In this year’s Best Picture movie “Spotlight”, inspired by the work of the investigative reporting section of the Boston Globe – exposing decades-old pedophilia crime inside Boston’s diocese – a reporter turned in despair to his editor (quoting by heart): It seems the whole town knew about this, all the time. But no one would confirm it.
Well, that type of ‘news’ is the hardest to break.
The smoke of alleged corruption has been coming out from the Prosecutions Office (MP) since at least last summer. Journalists from various media outlets, the Times included, tried in vain to obtain confirmation of the rumors spreading all over the city. At some point, very recently, I vented my frustration about getting some answers on the case to a high-ranked official. His comment? “When ‘he’ will be accused, you will know it.” I couldn’t use this “kind of” confirmation because we were talking off-the-record. But the clock was ticking.
The answer to our questions came swiftly last weekend: Former general prosecutor Ho Chio Meng and others in the MP and the private sector were accused of crimes of corruption and abuse of power.
Presumed innocent, Mr Ho was incarcerated pending trial by the Court of Final Appeal (TUI).
The case triggered comments by lawyers, legislators, activists, even by ever cautious members of the government. Lamenting the “surprising” news, Ms Sonia Chan said that on the other hand it shows the “system works” because nobody is above the law; not even the man American diplomats nicknamed “The Sheriff” in a famous cable exposed in 2011 by WikiLeaks.
In the Westerns, when the sheriff goes rogue, his town becomes the most unlawful place in the Wild Wild West.
And for a good reason: if the ultimate guarantor of law enforcement becomes “a bandit” himself citizens start to suspect that the whole system is rotten.
The suspicions surrounding Ho Chio Meng – if proven true – reveal extraordinary traits of criminal character. They reveal premeditated, methodic and constantly devious conduct in a man and official that is supposed to have upheld the rule of law – for ten long years.
Commissioner Andre Cheong at Sunday’s press conference on the scandal tried his best to protect the MP’s reputation saying that judicial decisions “were untainted” despite Ho and comrades alleged corrupted acts. In other words, justice has continued to be served – during those ten long years.
Notable voices in town beg to disagree. For once, pro-democracy activist Jason Chao and top lawyer Jorge Neto Valente voiced identical positions – fears of widespread corruption in the system.
Jason to reporters: “We do not believe that the judicial duties were not affected.”
Neto Valente to Radio Macau: “The problem that might take place at the Public Prosecutions Office is influence peddling. People connected to the judicial circuit know that this has taken place and frequently. I never saw anyone taking a stance on the issue. Let’s see now if with this case the issue will be raised or not. In my opinion it’s far more serious than some side-jobs and petty rewards.”
Another rather important issue highlighted by this case – as happened a decade ago with Mr Ao Man Long – is the lack of an appeal system for top officials that are mandatorily trialed by the top court – the TUI, composed of only three judges.
What’s the point of appealing to the very same judges that ruled against you? We saw that effect when Mr Ho’s lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition to the TUI. They ruled against it.
The right of appeal is a cornerstone of the rule of law. The lack of it shows the system is flawed. But again, everyone’s known it – for decades, including the very “sheriff”.