Sulu Sou appeal period expires without action

The appeal period for the Court of First Instance ruling on suspended lawmaker Sulu Sou expired last night, with no indication that the prosecution or defense intended to contest the court’s decision.

On May 29, the young democrat was found guilty of the crime of unlawful assembly and was sentenced to 120 days worth of fines, together with fellow political activist Scott Chiang.

The suspended lawmaker and the Public Prosecutions Office were given an extended period of 25 days in which to appeal the court’s decision.

As of last night, neither party appeared to have filed an appeal. According to a Radio Macau report, they could still appeal even after the court office closed yesterday afternoon. To do so, they could fax an appeal to the court before midnight.

If no appeal is filed, it is the opinion of several legal experts in Macau that Sulu Sou is by law automatically reinstated as a legislator. The lawmaker in question also holds this view, and told media earlier this month that he would not require approval from his peers to return to his seat.

Sou has previously declared the conviction to be unlawful as he was convicted for a crime other than the one that led to his suspension. His comments, made on the sidelines of an event earlier this month, suggested he was contemplating an appeal, even as his colleagues within the New Macau Association urged him against such action as it would serve to impede his return to the Legislative Assembly.

Lawmakers in the Macau SAR normally enjoy prosecutorial immunity that prevents charges from being brought against them. However, Sou was suspended by a Legislative Assembly intervention in December last year, which lifted his immunity and permitted him to stand trial, accused of the more serious crime of aggravated disobedience.