Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak told reporters yesterday that the local police needed to take quick action and arrest 11 people on Saturday for their alleged membership of a criminal organisation, illegal gambling operations and money laundering – including local casino junket mogul Alvin Chau Cheok Wa – “after the mainland police had made an announcement” on the matter as otherwise “some of the evidence would have disappeared”.

Wong spoke to reporters about Chau’s case without mentioning him by name during a break in yesterday’s one-day Q&A session in the legislature’s hemicycle about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.

Wong underlined that it was “normal” for the local police to take action after investigating a particular case for over a year. The policy secretary also said that he has reported details of the “important” criminal case to Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng.

Yesterday’s remarks made by Wong came after the Judiciary Police (PJ) announced the high-profile case in a special press conference on Sunday. 

Meanwhile the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) announced in a statement last night that five of the 11 suspects involved in the case have been remanded in custody – i.e., they have been transferred to pre-trial detention in the prison in Coloane. The five include a suspect surnamed Chau, the MP statement said. The other six suspects have been released on bail based on a number of conditions such as reporting to the police regularly and barred from leaving Macau, according to the statement.

Announcements by Wenzhou & Macau police

The spectacular case came to light after the people’s prosecution office in Wenzhou city, Zhejiang province, had issued an arrest warrant for a Macau resident identified as Zhou Zhuohua, which was announced by the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in the city on Friday. According to Macau’s customary Cantonese-Portuguese transliteration system, the name is spelt Chau Cheok Wa.

The Macau Judiciary Police merely identified Chau, 47, by his surname. Customarily, the local police identify suspects by their surnames only.

A detailed statement by the Wenzhou police on Friday also named Chau’s Suncity Gaming Promotion Company Limited. The statement mentioned that Chau has been running casino junket operations in Macau since 2007 and that he set up online gambling platforms in the Philippines in 2016.

Suncity is one of Macau’s major casino junket operators.

The Wenzhou police statement also accused Chau of assisting mainlanders to gamble in casino VIP rooms outside the mainland, apart from granting them gambling loans and providing transportation services.

The statement also accused Chau of setting up an asset management company in the mainland, collecting gambling debts there, assisting gamblers in cross-border money transactions and providing underground banking services.

Chau, 47, is reputed to be Macau’s top casino junket mogul. He is also said to be one of the city’s richest people.

During Sunday’s special press conference, the Judiciary Police said that 11 people, including a 47-year-old local businessman surnamed Chau, were arrested on Saturday for alleged membership of a criminal organisation, illegal gambling operations, and money laundering. The 11 people comprised 10 locals and a man from Hong Kong.

According to Sunday’s PJ announcement, the Judiciary Police have been gathering intelligence since August 2019 about an organised-crime gang allegedly headed by Chau whose organisation was operating local casino VIP rooms which set up online gambling platforms overseas and looked for mainland customers to carry out illegal online gambling. The gang allegedly transferred the illegal profits through the customers’ VIP accounts via “underground banks” in an attempt to cover up the illegal transfer of the ill-gotten money.

According to Sunday’s PJ announcement, the Judiciary Police launched an in-depth investigation in April last year. They decided to take action on Saturday morning and arrested the 11 people in a number of units in a commercial building in Nape as well as a residential flat in Coloane. A large quantity of evidence such as the equivalent of three million patacas in various currencies, accounting books, documents as well as a number of computers and other IT devices were seized in the operation.

Law enforcement work in line with local law: Wong

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Wong underlined that the local police have been carrying out their law enforcement work such as in this particular case in strict adherence with Macau’s laws and regulations. Wong said that the local police will continue to investigate and follow up the case in strict accordance with the local law.

Wong said that the case involved “important” criminal activities because of which he has reported details of the case to the chief executive. However, Wong said that he “cannot” reveal Ho’s remarks about the case.

When asked by reporters whether Saturday’s PJ operation has smashed the whole criminal gang, Wong said that he “cannot” disclose further details of the case as it is now been undergoing judicial procedures. 

When asked by the media whether there are other casino junket operators in Macau which have been found to have engaged in illegal activities similar to the case announced by the local police on Sunday, Wong said that the police never announce details of cases that are still under investigation.

Investigations on certain cases take long time

When asked by reporters why the Macau Judiciary Police which launched an in-depth investigation into Chau’s case last year chose to only take action on Saturday following the Wenzhou police statement, Wong said that normally it takes a long time for the police to complete their investigations into certain cases, adding that it is normal for the police to need one to two years to investigate an “important” case. Wong said that “it is not strange that the police only take action after investigating a case for over a year.” 

According to Wong, the Judiciary Police underlined on Sunday that they decided to take action on Saturday after believing that it was “the right time”. Wong said that one of the factors leading to “the right time” was that “the mainland police made an announcement” on Friday, because of which, Wong said, the Macau police needed to launch an operation to bust the gang, as otherwise “some of the evidence [related to the case] would have disappeared”.

Chau & 4 others remanded in custody 

Meanwhile, last night’s statement by the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) said that the findings of the police investigation into Chau’s case show that the gang based in Macau set up an online gambling platform in the Philippines featuring livestreaming which aimed to attract mainland customers to engage in illegal online gambling involving large amounts. The MP statement, which identified Chau by his surname, also said that the gang transferred its illegal profits through “underground banks”.

The MP statement noted that those who have participated in a criminal organisation face a prison term of up to 10 years, while those who have led such an organisation face up to 12 years behind bars. A money-laundering suspect faces a prison term of up to eight years, while those engaged in illegal gambling operations face up to three years behind bars, the statement noted.

The statement said that the case has had a serious impact on the legal operations of Macau’s gaming sector and on the stability of the city’s financial order. In order to prevent the suspects from escaping, the statement said, an examining magistrate has ordered that five – including Chau – of the 11 suspects be remanded in custody, while the other six suspects have been released on bail based on a number of pre-trial conditions such as being required to report to the police regularly and barred from leaving Macau. The statement did not mention how much bail each of the six had to pay.

Macau’s public broadcaster TDM reported yesterday morning that Chau was transferred to jail in Coloane from the Public Prosecutions Office in Zape after 14 hours of questioning. 

Chau is the executive director, chairman and controlling shareholder of Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Limited. 

Suncity, related firm halt trading in HK 

Meanwhile, Suncity Group Holdings Limited said in a statement yesterday morning that trading in its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange “has been halted with effect from 9:00 a.m. on 29 November 2021 pending the release of an announcement in relation to news coverage regarding Mr. Chau Cheok Wa (an executive Director, the chairman of the Board and a controlling shareholder of the Company), which constitutes inside information of the Company.”

The statement was posted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website at 9:04 a.m. yesterday. The statement was signed by Company Secretary Chiu King Yan. 

Another Hong Kong-listed company, Summit Ascent Holdings Limited, said in a separate statement that trading in its shares had been halted with effect from 9:00 a.m. yesterday pending the release of an announcement in relation to news coverage regarding Chau, a non-executive director, board chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. 

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak (centre) speaks to reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s Q&A session about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year in the Legislative Assembly (AL). Photo: Tony Wong

Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort Macau junket mogul Alvin Chau Cheok Wa (centre, front) from the PJ headquarters to a van for transfer to the nearby Public Prosecution Office (MP) in Zape on Sunday afternoon. – Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka