Two more suspects arrested in Zhou Zhuohua case

Macau's Judiciary Police said on January 30, 2022 that it had arrested two more Macau residents in connection with the Zhou Zhuohua case, according to a report by Southern Metropolis Daily¹. The same day, Macau Legend Development Limited confirmed that its chief executive, Chan Wing-yan, had been arrested by the Judiciary Police¹.

• The Judiciary Police transferred 11 people including Zhou Zhuohua to prosecutors on charges of criminal association, illegal gambling operations and money laundering¹
• The Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court began joint hearings in three cases, including one against 34 defendants¹
• She Zhijiang, born in 1982, was arrested in Thailand and holds Cambodian nationality¹

The arrests follow the earlier handover of Zhou Zhuohua and ten others to the Public Prosecutions Office. The Judiciary Police transferred 11 people including Zhou to the prosecutors on charges of criminal association, illegal gambling operations and money laundering; Zhou was then held in preventive detention at Coloane Prison¹. Zhou is the founder of Macau's Sun City Group¹.

The case against the group Zhou is alleged to have led is also being heard on the mainland. The Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court began joint hearings in three cases, including one against 34 defendants accused of operating casinos and illegal business operations¹. The court said the sums involved were exceptionally large; after the hearing it adjourned and set no date for judgment¹.

The report also covers a separate cross-border gambling figure, She Zhijiang, also known as She Lunkai, who was arrested in Thailand and was being held by the immigration bureau while a request to extradite him to China was pending¹. She, born in 1982, holds Cambodian nationality¹.

What it means for players

The arrests concern people accused of running gambling operations, not customers, and no source reports any change to the rules that apply to ordinary players in Macau. Macau's casino market remains open to visitors under its own licensing rules, while the mainland cases involve gambling promoted into China, where operating casinos and illegal business operations are charged as crimes. Details of how the two newly arrested Macau residents are alleged to have been involved have not been reported.

What happens next

Zhou Zhuohua remains in preventive detention at Coloane Prison¹. The Wenzhou court adjourned without a judgment date¹. She Zhijiang was in immigration detention in Thailand awaiting a Chinese extradition request¹.