The former secretary for transport and public works, Ao Man Long who took a cool US$100 million in bribes and now is serving a 27-year jail sentence for serious corruption charges, admitted yesterday to having received money from companies including Seng Meng Fai.

Ao was a witness in his family’s trial and rejected claims that his relatives and wife had knowledge of what the former secretary was doing. Ao also told the court his family did what he asked without ever questioning him or the activities involving grand sums of money and offshore accounts.

The court repeatedly heard how the former secretary’s family trusted Ao and his decisions.

However, Ao confessed to receiving large sums of money, but said it had not been in the way described in the indictment against him.

The payments were made in increments for services provided to those companies, however they did not affect the outcome or the process of the public tenders and winning bidders, the court heard.

The court also heard that Ho Meng Fai had made payments to bank accounts under Ao’s family members’ names, but were managed by the former secretary. The money was not related to bribery nor was it related to corruption, Ao told the court.

The money was “simply” for services Ecoline, one of Ao’s shell companies, had carried out, the former secretary said, adding that for the Macau Dome, Ho Meng Fai had sought services from Ecoline to contact a projects concession company from the mainland.

The court heard that this was an example of the types of services Ecoline carried out.

Ao also said that this time, unlike previously, he was telling the truth. But he was unable to itemise all the works where such services and payments were made, saying that the prosecution would have to ask the deceased Lee Se Chong, who had all the companies’ contacts.

The court also heard that Ao had only had access to Ecoline in 2006 after the  manager Lee Se Chong died.

With thanks :: Macau Daily Times

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