Reported about 1 year ago
Macau casino tycoon, Zhou Zhuohua (nicknamed 'Xian Mihua'), had his final appeal rejected by the Macau court, resulting in an upheld sentence of 18 years in prison and a joint fine of 24.865 billion Hong Kong dollars (approximately 104.5 billion New Taiwan dollars) along with 8 other defendants, marking a record-breaking fine. Despite appealing to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a public letter, the appeal was unsuccessful. Zhou was charged with leading a criminal group, operating illegal gambling, fraud, money laundering, and faced 289 charges with an involved amount of up to 3 trillion New Taiwan dollars. The court not only upheld the original sentence but also significantly raised the fine amount by nearly tripling it from 86 billion Hong Kong dollars to 248.65 billion Hong Kong dollars (around 104.5 billion New Taiwan dollars), shocking many. Zhou's appeal for fairness and normal judicial process in the case that some analysts believe is related to high-level power struggles within the Chinese Communist Party.
Source: YAHOO