2014 Annual Report of the Commission Against Corruption of Macao published in Official Gazette of the Macao SAR

The Commissioner Against Corruption, Cheong Weng Chon, submitted the 2014 Annual Report of the Commission Against Corruption of Macao to the Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, in March 2015 pursuant to Article 15 of Law no. 10/2000, Organic Law of the Commission Against Corruption of the Macao Special Administrative Region. The report is published in the Official Gazette of the Macao Special Administrative Region today (29th April). The report summarises the activities and efforts of the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) in corruption fighting, ombudsman, declaration of assets and interests and integrity promotion, etc. and also includes comparison and analysis of the caseloads in 2014 and the previous years and summaries of part of the cases investigated and handled by the CCAC. The summary of the report is as the following: Number of cases received and case processing summary: In 2014, the CCAC received and followed up a total of 865 complaints and reports, of which 298 were of criminal nature and 567 were about administrative impropriety. It was a slight decrease compared with the 896 cases recorded in 2013. In particular, the CCAC saw a larger decrease in criminal cases compared with the previous several years and an increase in administrative complaints. In addition, complaints and reports lodged by citizens represented 96% of all cases received, of which 453 cases were lodged by identified complainants or those willing to provide personal data. Together with the cases brought forward from 2013, the CCAC handled a total of 1,675 cases in 2014. Regarding criminal cases, investigations of 492 cases were completed in the year, which were then referred to the Public Prosecutions Office or archived. On the ombudsman front, 563 cases were handled and archived. In addition, the CCAC received 1,021 counts of enquiries of different natures throughout 2014. Anti-corruption: Of the criminal cases investigated throughout the year, most involved crimes committed by public servants, mainly forgery of documents, of which a large proportion were attendance records. Other crimes included power abuse, fraud and embezzlement. Meanwhile, there was a drop in cases of passive corruption committed by public servants. Moreover, in 2014, the CCAC also completed two cases of provision of incorrect data for declaration of assets and interests and a case of unexplained wealth. The Legal Regime of Declaration of Assets and Interests effective from 2013 introduces the requirement for disclosure of assets and interests of holders of specific public and political positions, marking an important step in fostering the “sunshine government” policy promoted by the Macao SAR Government. In 2014, the CCAC continued the work of declaration of assets and interests in a smooth way under the new law. Ombudsman: On the ombudsman front, the cases handled in 2014 were mainly about legal system governing public services, management and law-enforcement of public security force and municipal affairs. Moreover, there were 572 requests for help and consultation, a slight increase compared to the total of 2013; of which a majority was about legal system governing public services, management and law-enforcement of public security force, health care, public procurement and municipal affairs. When handling cases of administrative complaints, the CCAC mainly reviewed the legality and rationality of administrative work conducted by public departments. When they are found involving administrative illegality or irregularity, the CCAC will urge them to ratify. Moreover, depending on the characteristics of each case, the CCAC will analyse the case and conduct a review of the external services and internal operation of the department. If necessary, the improvement suggestions will be rendered to the department, with the aims to enhance its service quality and work efficiency, thus protecting the legal rights and interests of the citizens. Integrity promotion and community relations: In 2014, a total of 386 seminars and symposia were organised, with 22,142 participants which covered different sectors including public servants, civic association members, employers and employees of private entities, teenagers, secondary and primary students. In order to strengthen the knowledge of various industries on the law Prevention and Suppression of Bribery in the Private Sector, seminars on corruption prevention in the private sector were specially organised for civil associations, private entities and education institutions. Besides, the message of corruption prevention was also disseminated through TV commercials, radio advertisement, outdoor advertisement, bus advertisement, TV programmes, special column in newspapers and publications. In addition, activities concerning the integrity education for teenaged students and the Integrity Volunteer Team were held continually.