Former top prosecutor corruption case to be pre-trialled

The city’s former Prosecutor-General Ho Chio Meng, who has been in custody since February, applied for pre-trial at the end of last month and his request has now been accepted by the Court of Final Appeal, said the president of court, Justice Sam Hou Fai.
Mr. Sam said the pre-trial will take place at the earliest when the courts resume work after the summer holidays and begin the next judiciary year on October 19. The process of the pre-trial is expected to take around two months, Mr. Sam told reporters on the sidelines of the National Day reception on Saturday.
The president of the city’s top court added that he is not aware of the exact pre-trial date or the details of the supporting documents, as Portuguese-national judge Viriato Lima is in charge of the case.
Mr. Sam said that during the pre-trial, which won’t be open to the public, the court would examine the evidence. If the pre-trial judge decides there is not enough evidence, the case will be dismissed and the suspect will be released immediately. As the pre-trial is to be undertaken by the Court of Final Appeal, such a decision cannot be overturned and is not subject to any further appeal. However, if there is enough evidence, the case will officially go to trial.
The former Prosecutor-General is accused of colluding with local businessmen by awarding some 2,000 public contracts of the Public Prosecutor’s Office by illicit means between 2004 and 2014. The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) has said suspects in the case illegally gained at least MOP44 million (US$5.5 million) through the deals.