Macau gangland boss in new bid for release

Lawyers for jailed Macau gangland boss 'Broken Tooth' Wan Kuok-koi have launched a new bid for his early release, just months before the end of a nearly 14-year jail stint.

Pedro Leal, one of the lawyers representing Wan, confirmed that he had lodged papers with the Macau courts questioning a decision to keep the now 57-year-old 14K triad leader behind bars until December.

Leal said Wan should have been released this month but that the authorities had used a flawed legal manoeuvre to keep him locked up.

The move is the latest in a string of attempts by the notorious mobster for either parole or a reduction in sentence since he was jailed for a string of gangland offences.

Wan, a key figure in a casino-linked crime wave, has been held in a specially built high-security jail on Coloane island since 1998.

Last year, Macau security officials expressed fears that Wan could stage a return to the high-roller casino business, where he wreaked havoc as gangland turf wars broke out amid uncertainty over the city's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1999.