First Macau woman customs chief DID commit suicide, says government amid cover-up accusations
The Macau government yesterday attempted to clear up questions surrounding the death of the former Portuguese enclave’s first ever woman customs chief.
The Macau government yesterday attempted to clear up questions surrounding the death of the former Portuguese enclave’s first ever woman customs chief.
Speaking at a highly anticipated press conference, Secretariat for Security Wong Sio-chak, acting customs chief since Friday, said there was no evidence or facts to overturn the conclusions reached by the Judiciary Police and forensic tests that the case was a suicide.
Wong said: “The police have handled the case in a manner fully consistent with customary practices, internal guidelines and legal requirements. The accusations that the government had deliberately concealed the truth and hindered the media from covering the case were groundless.”
READ MORE: Suicide suspected as Macau's first female customs chief found dead in public toilet
The body of Lai Man-wa, 56, who was appointed director-general of Macau Customs in December, was found in a public toilet in the housing estate Ocean Gardens on Taipa Island at about 3.30pm on Friday.
She had slash wounds to both her wrists and her neck, and had a plastic bag over her head.
Authorities in Macau had classified the death of the mother of two a suicide by asphyxiation. But the cause of her death remained a subject of widespread speculation, with some raising conspiracy theories.
Dr O Heng-wa of the forensic department at the Hospital Conde S Januario, said yesterday a post-mortem on Saturday concluded the cause of Lai’s death was suffocation and that she had killed herself.
