Macau’s Court of First Instance announced Thursday that it would deliver its verdict in the trial of former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau on 18 January.
In his final statement in court, Chau expressed his “deepest apologies” to all staff and their families affected by the arrest and prosecution of himself and 20 other Suncity associates.
However, he denied that Suncity was a triad or criminal syndicate.
“We have been operating in Macau for more than 10 years and have VIP rooms all over the world, but we have not received any complaints or reports over the years, so I don’t know why we have suddenly become a criminal syndicate,” he said.
“We have never promoted gambling in mainland China, we have never committed any crime anywhere in the world, we have never used illegal means to recover our debts and we have always operated our VIP rooms in a law-abiding manner.”
Chau noted that that Suncity had generated more than MOP$300 billion (US$37.5 billion) in gaming revenue over the course of a decade and was the largest customer of Macau’s six concessionaires, but that “betting under the table” activities referenced in the charges against totaled just MOP$21 billion (US$2.6 billion).
“What is the logic of having over MOP$300 billion in gaming revenues to cover up MOP$21 billion in criminal revenue from betting under the table gambling?” he asked.
“Suncity is not a criminal organization, it is not a triad, many of the employees, those accused of crimes and the witnesses are highly educated and professional.
“The loyalty of Suncity is to put the employees as the company’s biggest capital and the interests of the customers as the company’s biggest interest. We operate on this principle and we have no criminal intent at all.”
Chau apologized to all those accused of crimes and their families.
“I want to say I’m very sorry for the pain they are living with, including those I don’t know, Au Wang Tong and Li Siu Chung (the 13th and 18th defendants).
“Is it a concerted effort with the government or is it my own personal interest? I hope the court will release them so that they can be reunited with their families as soon as possible.”
