Letter to the Editor | ‘I have seen enough of arbitrary laws, selectively enforced’

- Wednesday, August 5, 2020 - 4 years ago No Comments 7,139 Views

Dear Editor,

There is a bizarre case in Macau recently involving a workplace dispute.
An employee started to work for a company and had her salaries paid via bank transfer using her real name on the real ID card. The worker had asked her employer to pay for her medical bills, but there was a mistake in her name on the M7 form of the medical bills.
Her employer paid the bill, but questioned the payment after she resigned. Her employer referred the matter of the mistaken name to the police, who suspected fraud.
Soon after getting the police involved, the worker and her employer reached an agreement regarding the matter. However, the Public Prosecutions Office will not drop the case and is now accusing the employee of forging documents.
The purpose of the crime, they say, is to conceal her true identity and prepare for future crimes. The pre-trial judge also agrees with the prosecution.
There are many firms in Macau that provide forged documents for hiring blue card workers. Many people know this. Has anyone ever been accused of forging documents? The answer is almost none.
I have seen enough of arbitrary laws, selectively enforced in Macau, unfortunately.
And what about the independence of the courts?
Judges should always maintain an independent and neutral position. Some judges tend to be preconceived and suspect crimes are always present, and they believe that the defendant has committed a criminal act from the beginning. The judge should insist on the presumption of innocence.
Today, whatever evidence is submitted by the investigative agency, the Public Prosecutions Office will accept and submit it, and the court will generally accept it too. There is no real basis for determining its usefulness as evidence.
In some cases, the judge basically adopts the practice of “you have your defense, and I have my own judgment.”
These judicial failures can be catastrophic. If a guilty verdict was based on a false accusation, then the people will lose confidence in the justice system and society will be unstable.
Unjust, false and wrongly filed cases have always been a pain in the hearts of legal professionals.
In fact, the three organs of government should perform their respective duties in criminal litigation activities and monitor each other, and prevent unjust and false cases from ever reaching the courts.