Report | CCAC probes mostly relate to civil servants infractions

CCAC Commissioner André Cheong

The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) received a total of 793 complaints and reports in 2015, including 262 allegations of criminal corruption and 482 administrative complaints which have been pursued. Of all complaints, 568 cases have been finalized, including 256 criminal cases which have been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office or closed upon completion of the investigation. A total of 312 cases referred to the ombudsman have been completed and closed. Moreover, the CCAC received a total of 1,104 enquiries about a variety of topics.
The CCAC 2015 report was published yesterday in the Official Gazette after being submitted by the commissioner André Cheong Weng Chon to the Chief Executive. The report summarizes the activities of the commission in fighting corruption, the ombudsman’s services and the promotion of integrity. It also includes summaries of the parts of the cases that were investigated and handled by Macau’s corruption watchdog.
According to the report, most of the cases investigated involved crimes committed by public servants. A wide range of crimes were involved, including active and passive bribery, document forgery, the abuse of power, breach of confidentiality and unexplained wealth. The CCAC commented that the most concerning issue is “the collusion between public servants and businessmen to commit bribery in conspiracy during construction work, procurement, and outsourcing of services in the public sector.” It is mentioned in the report that “all public departments should pay great attention to such situations and strengthen the discipline and conduct requirements of public servants, as well as improve the relevant laws and regulations to plug loopholes that might trigger corruption.”
The CCAC stressed that corruption and bribery cases in the private sector showed a decreasing trend and that no private bribery cases were successfully referred to judicial institutions last year. The main reason for this, according to the CCAC, is that the related crimes are semi-
public offences and the private sector opts “to smooth things over and not to exercise the right to file a complaint, resulting in the CCAC not being able to pursue such cases under the law.” The Commission therefore stressed that it is necessary to improve the law relating to the prevention and suppression of bribery in the private sector and to further enhance awareness of matters of integrity among citizens.
One of the cases mentioned in the report occurred between March and June of 2015, and involved two prison officers who provided benefits to a prisoner. Another case concerned one official in charge of the Transport Bureau (DSAT) and one staff member who received a bribe in order to ensure that three pre-determined management companies would win the contract for the construction of a public parking lot.  One of the companies was then found to have the two suspects among its shareholders. There were also two reports made by motor vehicle driving license examiners, who informed the CCAC that students had offered them money in order to facilitate passing the exam. Staff reporter