Former Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long yesterday started standing trial for the third case since his arrest in December 2006 amid a huge corruption scandal. In this new case, Mr Ao faces a total of nine charges stemming from taking bribes while awarding public contracts linked to the Zhuhai-Macau Cross-Border Industrial Park and the Coloane Wastewater Treatment Plant. The new charges also pertain to the plots where the residential project La Scala is being built. Mr Ao allegedly received HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) from Hong Kong real estate tycoon Lau Luen Hung and South China Football Club chairman Steven Lo Kit-sing in 2005 for the acquisition of the land, that was previously held by companies controlled by the government. Mr Ao has already been sentenced in two difference cases to a total of 28 and a half years in prison. The maximum jail term in Macau is 30 years.
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