A customs officer was suspended from work for 30 days after assisting two men in obtaining cash from their credit cards at fashion boutiques, the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, the customs officer, who was referred to as A, witnessed two men (B and C) obtaining cash from their credit cards at different fashion boutiques on March 10, 2016 and March 14, 2016 respectively. The statement said that even though A did not know B and C and B did not know C, due to his professional experience he should have known that they were engaging in illegal activities. However, the statement added, as A was a department chief of the Macau Customs Service, he had the obligation to stop the two men from engaging in illegal activities, yet he instead helped both men test whether the credit card machines were functioning correctly.
The statement said that the customs officer had been accused of violating the regulations for members of the Macau Public Security Forces (FSM), and on June 11, 2020 Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak ordered A to be suspended from work for 30 days.
However, the statement pointed out that A was dissatisfied with Wong’s order and appealed to the Court of Second Instance (TSI) in vain. The statement underlined that A still insisted that the penalty was unfair and appealed to the Court of Final Appeal (TUI). The statement noted that A gave two reasons – that the court had violated the principle of ne ultra petita (‘NUP’), according to which an adjudicative body may not decide on issues other than those that are submitted to it. A also claimed that the court had “failed to act” (“omissão de pronúncia” in Portuguese) concerning his appeal.
The Court of Final Appeal pointed out in his ruling that as A was a senior customs officer when the crimes were committed, and when he was witnessing the suspicious illegal activities, A should have stopped them from being carried out and, therefore, A should not have provided assistance. The statement underlined that A violated a regulation that all members of the Macau Public Security Forces must abide by the law.
As a result, the court ruled that the customs officer’s appeal failed and, consequently, that he should be suspended from work for 30 days.
