Triads' last appeal fails

Two senior triads who ran Macau casinos have lost a final bid to overturn their convictions for plotting a money-laundering racket.

The Court of Final Appeal threw out an application by Adam Wong Ping-shui and his boss, Michael Leung Chung, for leave to appeal.

Justices Verina Bokhary, Patrick Chan and Roberto Ribeiro, sitting with the Court's Appeal Committee, refused on Friday to allow the appeal to go before the full court. They will now serve out their five-year sentences.

This brings to a close a remarkable Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation, the full details of which the Sunday Morning Post can reveal today.

Evidence showed Leung and Wong had claimed to be the registered owners of the Oriental VIP Club in Macau and had claimed they could launder money through the venture and through a casino in the United States. The court also heard that Wong and Leung had offices in the Shun Tak Centre, Sheung Wan, owned by Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun.

When the Sunday Post asked Mr Ho about any business connections he might have with Leung and Wong, he would only say: 'They are not owners of the Oriental VIP Club in Macau. They are gambling tour promoters for the club.' Wong said under cross-examination that he and Leung were the 'registered owners' of the club.

Senior immigration officer Steve Lam Yuk-fai, 44, was jailed for 10 years for possessing a bogus passport and plotting to transfer false diplomatic passports.