The case against former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau began on the afternoon of Friday 2 September in the Court of First Instance. There are 21 defendants in the case, but only nine of them, including Chau, appeared in court on Friday, with the other 12 absent.
The attorney for the eighth defendant, Wong Pak Ling, said he was unable to attend because he was currently hospitalized. Judge Lou Ieng Ha found his absence unreasonable and adjourned the case to 19 September.
Wong’s attorney, Maria Inês Gomes explained, “The defendant is absent due to illness and is currently hospitalized … it is unknown when he will be able to appear in court.”
However, Judge Lou found Wong’s absence was unreasonable because he could not explain when he would be discharged from the hospital. The judge imposed a fine of MOP$7,280 (eight units at MOP$910 per unit) and adjourned the case.
A total of 14 lawyers representing the defendants were present, as were five lawyers representing MGM China, Sands China, SJM Resorts, Wynn Macau and Galaxy Entertainment Group, mainly to pursue civil claims against the defendants.
Lawyers questioned the lack of seats
Although the case was postponed to 19 September, the defendants’ lawyers filed a claim with the court stating, “There were not enough seats in the court for the lawyers and the team could not bring their assistants to the court.” Lawyers also complained about the volume of Chinese words in the case, all of which require translation.
Judge Lou said the lawyers were clearly uncooperative and that they should not complain.
“The court has let a lot of people assist the lawyers and provided more seats, but that’s what the court hardware is. If the lawyers think there are too many Chinese words in the case (requiring translation by assistants) and they want assistants in the court, then you have to consider whether it’s appropriate to take the case.”
The judge emphasized that, “Lawyers can’t bring several assistants every time. This time they bring one assistant and next time they bring more than one. If the lawyer feels that he can’t know the case without an assistant, then he has to consider whether the case is suitable for him.”
In response, attorney Pedro Leal argued assistants are very important and should be present even if there are no spectators, and that it is impossible to have a situation where those assistants could not be present because of the court’s lack of space.
“The court should treat us better and the lack of space in the courtroom should be a problem for the authorities to solve,” he said.
Alvin Chau’s son, Chau Pak Ho, was also present Friday to observe the proceedings. Speaking to media afterwards about his father’s condition and mood, Chau replied, “His mood is natural, his condition is okay.”
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