Specialist publication Inside Asian Gaming has published what it says is an “open letter” from convicted fraudster Alvin Chau to President Xi Jinping, pleading for a reduction in the 18-year prison sentence imposed by the Court of First Instance in January.
The publication did not disclose how it obtained the document.
Chau founded Suncity Group, a junket organiser, in 2007. He and several of his employees were found guilty of more than 100 counts of illicit gambling activities, fraud and involvement in a criminal organisation.
In the purported letter to President Xi, the former gaming bigwig – who was accused of defrauding the government of billions of patacas in tax revenues – depicts himself as a humble “silent and unknown person” who worked selflessly and hard to help transform a “small fishing port” into a “world centre of tourism and leisure.”
[See more: A court has increased the compensation to be paid by Alvin Chau]
The text continues: “It is because of the return of Macau to the motherland and thanks to the central government policy to promote Macau that I have achieved what I did.”
The author of the letter goes on to acknowledge that there “are many problems in our industry”, but denies many of the crimes he was convicted of. He insists that his company was barely associated with illegal activities. “In general casino crimes do not involve violence and are usually at most worth a few years of imprisonment, so why is the crime in this case so serious?”
The letter concludes with an appeal to Xi, calling him “the greatest President in the history of our country” and China’s spiritual leader. “We just need a fair and normal verdict,” the letter says. “I am really overwhelmed by the situation, and I only hope to salvage the disaster that has happened to all of us, so I make this plea in an audacious manner.”
Inside Asian Gaming has published the original, handwritten Chinese text and an English translation here.
