Tak Chun Boss Sentenced. Levo Chan Weng Lin, former CEO of now-defunct Macau casino junket operator Tak Chun Group, has received a 13-year prison sentence in total from Macau’s Court of Final Appeal.
According to a ruling published on Thursday, the city’s top court set the amount that Mr Chan,Tak Chun Boss Sentenced, and other defendants must pay as compensation for gains from “illicit gambling” operations at HKD1.83 billion (US$235.2 million), a lower amount than previously ordered by a lower court.
The Court of Final Appeal also upheld the prison sentences of the other four defendants found guilty in the Tak Chun-related court case: nine years for Cherie Wong Pui Keng and Betty Cheong Sao Pek, ten years for Wayne Lio Weng Hang, and seven years for Edward Lee Tat Chuen.
The top court dismissed the Public Prosecutions Office’s appeal, which sought heavier prison sentences for the offenders. It also dismissed the five defendants’ plea to have their sentence time shortened.
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In January of this year, Macau’s Court of Second Instance reduced Mr Chan’s prison sentence by one year, to 13 years in total. Three other defendants received reduced sentences, while one had his prison sentence confirmed.
Mr Chan and the four other defendants were acquitted of fraud charges at the time, with the Court of Second Instance overturning an earlier verdict by the City Court of First Instance.
The Court of Final Appeal confirmed on Thursday that the five defendants’ criminal association accusation had been established. Other charges confirmed included illegal gambling and money laundering.
The new verdict in the case annulled the Court of Second Instance’s order that the defendants pay the Macau government about HKD2.49 billion in compensation for income from “illicit gambling” operations.
Instead, the highest court ordered the five defendants to pay approximately HKD1.63 billion in “illicit gains” accumulated over time. Mr Chan and two other defendants were also ordered to pay an additional HKD201.3 million in compensation to the Macau government.
Mr Chan was arrested in January 2022 and first convicted in April 2023. He and eight other accused were charged with crimes such as being members of a criminal organization, running illegal gaming activities, defrauding the Macau Special Administrative Region government and the city’s six casino concessionaires, and money laundering.
The Court of First Instance acquitted four of the remaining eight defendants.
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