Attorneys granted access to Ao’s notebooks

Attorneys of the fifth trial linked to Ao Man Long’s corruption case can have full access to the former secretary’s so-called “friendship notebooks”, according to Radio Macau.
The Lower Court (TJB) announced the decision yesterday after spending time checking the documents, that have been kept secret by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) since Ao’s arrest. Until now, attorneys were only given certified copies of the notebooks and agendas.
The notes allegedly include details of every illegal transaction and kickback received, as well as meetings held. A substantial part of the many cases linked to the corruption case’s prosecution is based on such documents.
João Miguel Barros, lawyer of Pedro Chiang, the main defendant in the fifth case presently being trialled in the TJB, supported by other attorneys, claimed that without free access to that evidence the defence is in a disadvantaged position compared with the Prosecution Office (MP). The MP then argued that the notebooks included names of other people under investigation and thus invoked the right to confidentiality. Therefore, the prosecutors suggested that the court should have a look at the notebooks first, before making any decision.
The fifth case linked to the Ao Man Long saga includes 12 defendants besides Chiang. The businessman, accused of seven counts of corruption, four of abuse of power and one of money laundering, left Macau in 2007 before being called to testify by the CCAC.
Former secretary for Transportation and Public Works, Ao Man Long, was jailed for 28 and half years for charges of money laundering and corruption. It involved at least MOP 800 million in bribes and other ill-gotten gains.