A man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly slandering a local table tennis player, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 51-year-old mainlander surnamed Liang who claims to be jobless.
According to Lei, the Judiciary Police received a complaint last Thursday night from a middle-aged female table tennis player representing Macau internationally, who said that she was being slandered by a group affiliated with a male surnamed Liang from the Chinese mainland.
The WTT [World Table Tennis] Champions Macao 2025 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group was held between last Tuesday and Sunday. The competition took place at the Macau East Asian Games Dome in Cotai. The complainant competed in last week’s championship.
Lei said that the victim discovered multiple online posts early last Thursday containing photos of two individuals wearing clothing printed with the debt-collecting slogan “Macau table tennis player XXX, repay my hard-earned money!” and holding up a banner with similar messages outside the venue of the Macau East Asian Games Dome. The victim confirmed that she had no financial disputes with any individuals and does not know the people in the photos, Lei said.
The victim demands that the relevant parties be held criminally liable, according to Lei, who added that after investigating, the Judiciary Police identified three male suspects, including Liang suspected of taking the photos.
The trio, according to Lei, entered Macau on Thursday morning; after allegedly taking the photos at the East Asian Games Dome, they left Macau together. Then, on Saturday evening, Liang re-entered Macau through the Barrier Gate where he was intercepted by PJ officers.
According to Lei, Liang confessed to accepting 2,500 yuan (2,820 patacas) from “someone” to do the related tasks, without verifying the authenticity of the information given to him. He also admitted to recruiting two accomplices, who – at the time of the press conference – were still at large, to come to Macau with him to take the photos. However, Liang did not reveal how he was contacted by “that someone” and how he hired his accomplices, Lei said.
Liang has meanwhile been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) facing a slander charge, Lei said, adding that the Judiciary Police are still looking for Liang’s two accomplices, Lei said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lei Chi Hou looks on during yesterday’s regular press conference. – Photo: Armindo Neves
