Lower Court hands down judgment in Macau’s first national security case, sentencing defendant to 12 ½ years in prison
Statement by Lower Court (TJB) of the Court of First Instance (TPI), November 6, 2026, 10:48 a.m.
The Lower Court today handed down its judgment in the criminal case in which Au Kam San (the defendant), a Macao resident, was suspected of committing crimes against national security. In this case, the Public Prosecution Office (MP) indicted the defendant on March 27, 2026 on suspicion of committing crimes against national security. The defendant subsequently requested an opening of the preliminary hearing stage (instrução). Following complementary investigation and the preliminary hearing debate, the preliminary hearing judge issued a ruling on July 2 confirming and upholding the Public Prosecution Office’s indictment, committing the defendant to trial for three counts of "subversion of State power", three counts of "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) to commit acts endangering national security", and one count of "breach of secrecy".
This is the first case involving a violation of the Law on Safeguarding National Security since the establishment of the MSAR. Throughout the proceedings, as the defendant did not retain a lawyer himself, the Court appointed a defence counsel for him in accordance with the law. The appointed defence counsel, duly accepted and recognised by the defendant, maintained close communication and contact with him to conduct his defence, and the defendant fully exercised his legal right to defence. Furthermore, the Court also lawfully granted requests submitted by his family members for regular visits.
The Criminal Chamber of the Lower Court held trial hearings for the case between September 16 and 18, 2026.
Based on the prudent, overall and objective analysis of all evidence (including the defendant's statements, witness testimonies, seized items, communication records, and relevant criminal investigation reports), the Collegiate Bench formed its conviction and found the vast majority of the facts set out in the indictment proven. During the trial hearings, the defendant did not contest most of the facts underpinning the indictment; he also admitted that colluding and establishing ties with external organisations constituted a crime and agreed with the defence arguments presented by his lawyer.
Regarding the charges of "subversion of State power" and "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security"—arising from unlawfully establishing ties with hostile external organisations and colluding with them to carry out acts endangering national security—the proven facts demonstrate that the defendant, Au Kam San, personally and over an extended period, provided assistance and cooperation to hostile external organisations. This involved gathering, preparing, and publicly disseminating various images and information that were manifestly filled with political claims aimed at subverting State power, as well as being false and obviously distorted. He thus used the unlawful means of establishing ties with hostile external organisations to collude with them in inciting hatred among Macao residents against the Central People's Government, with the intent to overthrow and undermine the fundamental system of the State established by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC). These subversion acts persisted even after the revised Law on Safeguarding National Security came into effect in 2023. There is no doubt that the defendant's conduct simultaneously constitutes both the crime of "subversion of State power" and "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security". However, as there exists an apparent concurrence between the two offences, the defendant must be punished by law solely for the more severe crime, namely "subversion of State power".
Regarding the charges of two counts of "subversion of state power" and two counts of "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security" stemming from establishing ties with several external organisations, the Collegiate Bench found it proven that between 2023 and 2024, the defendant successively established ties with multiple external organisations. He personally assisted them in collecting false and manifestly distorted information and conspired with them to publish it, aiming to provoke hostile acts by foreign states against the PRC and the MSAR, incite hatred among MSAR residents against the Central People's Government, and disrupt the smooth progress of the 6th Chief Executive Election of the MSAR. The defendant's conduct fully satisfies the essential elements of establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security, warranting conviction on two counts of this charge. Regarding the two counts of "subversion of State power" based on the same set of facts, the Collegiate Bench held that reasonable doubts remained as to whether the defendant's conduct substantively reached the degree of overthrow or harm required by the statutory definition of that crime; therefore, applying the principle of in dubio pro reo, it acquitted the defendant of those two counts of "subversion of state power".
Regarding the crime of "breach of secrecy", according to the facts found proven by the Collegiate Bench, the defendant, in his former capacity as a member of the Legislative Assembly in 2021, disclosed confidential information to external organisations. He had gained knowledge of this information while participating, as a member of the Legislative Assembly's Follow-up Committee for Land and Public Concessions Affairs, in a closed-door meeting regarding the renewal of gaming concessions. This conduct fully satisfies the crime of "breach of secrecy" under Article 348 of the Penal Code.
In the grounds for the judgment, the Collegiate Bench recorded that the series of acts committed by the defendant severely violated the legal interests protected by the relevant provisions. Although the defendant is a first-time offender and confessed to a considerable portion of the facts, his level of intent was extremely high, and both the unlawfulness of the crime and its potential consequences were very grave.
Based on the proven facts and applicable legal provisions, following deliberation, the Collegiate Bench handed down the following decision:
-- Acquittals on the two counts of "subversion of State power" arising from establishing ties with various external organisations;
-- Regarding the charge of "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security" for unlawfully establishing ties with hostile external organisations and conspiring with them to perform acts endangering national security: no separate penalty is imposed, as there is an apparent concurrence between this offence and the charge of "subversion of state power" based on the same facts;
-- Conviction as a principal offender for a completed crime of "subversion of state power", under Article 9(1) of Law No. 2/2009 (Law on Safeguarding National Security), as amended by Law No. 8/2023, with a sentence of 11 years and 3 months' imprisonment;
-- Conviction as a principal offender for a completed crime of "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security", under Article 13(1)(3) & (4), in conjunction with Article 13(2)(2) & (4)(1) of Law No. 2/2009, as amended by Law No. 8/2023, with a sentence of 3 years and 9 months' imprisonment;
-- Conviction as a principal offender for a completed crime of "establishing ties with organisations, associations, or individuals outside the MSAR to commit acts endangering national security", under Article 13(1)(2) & (4), in conjunction with Article 13(2)(2) & (4)(1) of Law No. 2/2009, as amended by Law No. 8/2023, with a sentence of 3 years and 9 months' imprisonment;
-- Conviction as a principal offender for a completed crime of "breach of secrecy", under Article 348(1) of the Macao Penal Code, with a sentence of 9 months' imprisonment.
Under Article 71 of the Penal Code, following the rules on legal concurrence (cúmulo jurídico), the overall sentence range for the defendant is between 11 years and 3 months and 19 years and 6 months. After deliberation, the Collegiate Bench decided to sentence the defendant Au Kam San to a single combined penalty of 12 years and 6 months' imprisonment.
Several dozen citizens, representatives of the news media, and family members of the defendant attended today's public reading of the judgment.
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Editor's Note: The Macau Post Daily arranged, reviewed, and edited the translation of this unabridged statement from Chinese
