Former IPIM president Jackson Chang
The Court of Second Instance (TSI) has upheld the corruption convictions of two former leaders of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
The court sentenced former IPIM president Jackson Chang to eight years, from five years, in prison for multiple offenses, including passive corruption, money laundering, and inaccurate asset declarations. Chang received three years and three months in prison for each of four counts of passive corruption, two years for one count of money laundering, two years for each of two additional money laundering counts, and seven months for each of three counts of inaccurate asset declarations.
Chang was found guilty of corruption, money laundering and abuse of power by Court of First Instance in October 2020, after which he filed for a retrial.
Meanwhile, his co-defendant, former IPIM official, Ng Kuok Sao, was given a more severe punishment of 24 years behind bars, compared to the previous sentence of 23 years.
He was charged with active corruption, money laundering, document forgery, and criminal association. Ng received two-year sentences for each of four counts of active corruption, three years and three months for one count of money laundering as a co-author, and three years and three months each for two additional money laundering counts. Ng was also convicted of one count of criminal association, with a six year and six-month sentence, and 23 counts of document forgery, with sentences of three years and three months for each forgery charge.
The TSI ruling concludes a lengthy legal battle stemming from a 2018 corruption investigation into the IPIM’s operations.
Prosecutors accused Chang and Ng of colluding with a business syndicate to fraudulently facilitate unlawful scheme to unlawfully obtain residency permits in exchange for kickbacks and other illicit benefits.
After an initial trial, the case was sent back for a retrial, during which the court acquitted Chang and Ng of some charges but upheld the core corruption convictions. Both defendants appealed, but the TSI has now largely upheld the lower court’s findings. Nadia Shaw
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