Jason Chao and Bill Chou accused of defamation

Jason Chao and Bill Chou

The local construction company Ho Chun Kei has accused Jason Chao and Bill Chou of defamation after the pair alleged that the company has benefited from the development of the North Taipa land lot.
TDM reported that the accusation revolves around a New Macau Association (ANM) press conference organized in January this year, which addressed the government’s plan to amend the urbanization plan for the North Taipa land parcels. Jason Chao was the ANM president then.
The amendment came two months before the Urban Planning Law came into effect, which in turn sparked controversy and speculation that the government wanted to avoid scrutiny of the law.
ANM alleged that the aim of the amendment was to benefit the owners of the lots in that region. They also alleged that there was no collusion between the administration and the businesses.
The association has also pointed out two land lots that they claimed – TN10b and TN13 – were not registered in the Land Registry as private parcels. However, they found that there were signs of two companies, one of them being the constructor Ho Chun Kei, placed on the lots.
Jason Chao told reporters that the existence of these land parcels was proof that the government had made the amendment to the North Taipa urbanization plan to benefit its friends in the property developing industry.
The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau later clarified that the lands were indeed private lands; it was only that the numbers provided by ANM were in the pre-amended plan. After the amendment, the two land lots had since been integrated into lands no. 10233 and no. 13856, which were private properties.
João Nogueira Marques, the lawyer who represents Ho Chun Kei, told news agency Lusa that the case is already in the hands of the prosecutors and refused to provide more information.
Meanwhile, Jason Chao told TDM that the evidence that they provided could stand in court. “Let’s meet them in the court room,” he said.