The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced yesterday that a PJ officer was surrounded and assaulted by a group of seven men outside a casino-hotel resort in Cotai on Thursday last week while he was conducting an investigation there. The seven men were arrested separately two days later.
During the assault, the PJ officer was also robbed of his smartphone. Police were still investigating yesterday the exact motive for attacking the officer.
The suspects did not know the PJ officer’s identity when they attacked him. After the victim revealed who he was, the suspects stopped their attack and fled.
The police identified nine men who had surrounded the PJ officer. Following investigation, however, they gathered sufficient evidence confirming that only seven of the nine attacked the officer. The other two men present at the scene are, for the time being, regarded as witnesses
PJ spokesman Ho Ka Weng announced details of the case at a special press conference yesterday.
The seven suspects – aged between 31 and 64 – comprise three local residents and four non-resident workers (NRWs) from Thailand, the Philippines, and the Chinese mainland.
The three local residents are: Lai, a 45-year-old property developer; Cheang, a 63-year-old businessman; and Leong, a 64-year-old businessman.
The four non-locals working in Macau are: Uansunam, a 33-year-old water dispenser technician; and Temkrathok, a 46-year-old who told police he works as a mover – both from Thailand; Sumang, a 31-year-old security guard from the Philippines; and Wu, a 49-year-old chef from the Chinese mainland.
On Thursday night, the PJ officer was conducting a criminal investigation alone outside a casino-hotel resort in Cotai when the first suspect, Lai, approached him suddenly together with eight other men.
Because the men approached him abruptly and to prevent any disruption to his ongoing work, the PJ officer refrained from revealing his identity right away. Instead, he tried to contact his colleagues and leave the scene.
The PJ investigation found that Lai questioned the officer about why he was there, immediately after which the other six suspects rushed forward and surrounded him. Uansunam, from Thailand, put the officer in a chokehold from behind to restrain him, while the others pinned him down. Cheang and Leong stepped forward to punch and slap the officer. Cheang then snatched the officer’s smartphone and left the scene.
Afterwards, the victim revealed his identity as a PJ officer. Lai then changed his attitude, claiming he could help the officer locate his smartphone, in order to buy time and allow the others to flee. Lai also took the opportunity to leave while the officer was notifying his superiors and searching his smartphone.
The officer later recovered his smartphone – worth 4,500 patacas – nearby, but it had been severely damaged. He was taken to hospital for outpatient treatment, and a medical examination confirmed he suffered minor bruises to his neck and hands.
After the assault, the Judiciary Police separately intercepted nine men at various locations in Taipa and Coloane on Saturday. Following an initial investigation, police gathered sufficient evidence indicating that only seven of them were connected to the case.
The seven suspects have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further questioning and investigation, facing charges of robbery, causing bodily harm and property damage. The case file submitted to the Public Prosecutions Office lists the other two men as witnesses.
Asked by reporters why the PJ officer was carrying out investigative duties alone at the scene, the spokesman said the relevant details could not be disclosed due to the Judiciary Police’s investigative and operational deployments.
The spokesman also said police records indicated that none of the seven suspects had previously committed similar offences.
Although the seven suspects know each other, they did not know the victim. Police were still investigating the exact motive for attacking the officer at the time of yesterday’s press conference, the spokesman said.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the seven hooded suspects to a PJ vehicle outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
Pieces of evidence comprising the seven suspects’ shoes, their smartphones, and the victim’s severely damaged smartphone are displayed at the pressroom of the PJ headquarters yesterday.– Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
