By Christopher Ip and Farah Master
MACAU, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Notorious Macau gangster Wan
“Broken Tooth” Kuok-koi emerged from jail on Saturday morning
into a very different gambling haven than the one he bullied in
the late-1990s.
Imprisoned for close to 15 years inside the enclave’s high
security prison, the former triad leader was escorted out by two
police officers before being whisked into a white Lexus driven
by two men dressed in black. Wearing trousers and a long-sleeved
white shirt, Wan ignored requests for comment from a crowd of
more than 50 journalists who had gathered outside.
Wan’s release comes just after China appointed a new
leadership body at a Chinese Communist Party Congress this month
where corruption was a dominant theme. Beijing has in recent
months sent strong signals to Macau authorities to tighten
regulation and promote responsible gaming in the world’s casino
capital.
It’s a far cry from more than a decade ago when Wan, who is
in his late 50s, and other triad gangsters ran amok during the
final days of Portuguese rule of this southern Chinese outcrop.
The bloody gangland turf wars are a thing of the past, but
Macau, transformed into a booming, glitzy strip of casinos,
malls and hotels – many owned by U.S. tycoons such as Sheldon
Adelson and Steve Wynn – retains a murky underbelly where
dubious money transfers are commonplace and the shadow of triad
gangs still hangs.
Triads, or Chinese organised crime societies, remain a vital
cog in the gambling industry, as intermediaries and junket
operators – recruiting and transporting high-rollers and
offering credit and recovering debts around the highly lucrative
VIP gaming rooms.
The leading junkets make billions of dollars from Macau’s
gambling industry, bringing in over 70 percent of total gambling
revenue – which has soared to $33.5 billion, five times that of
Las Vegas, from just $1.7 billion in Wan’s heyday. As the money
has rolled in, the junket operators have diversified into
movies, property and stockbroking.
The once monopolistic casino empire of gambling tycoon
Stanley Ho has opened up to the Las Vegas big-hitters, but Wan’s
14K triad, its branches and rival gangs are still active in
Macau, say people close to the industry.
“The triads retain some kind of influence in the majority of
the VIP rooms,” said a security executive at one of Macau’s
leading casinos, who was not authorised to speak to the media.
“We know there’s influence because we see them around the casino
floor, inside the VIP rooms. It’s not an offence. Unless the
police can prove money laundering, they can stay there.”
TAKING NO CHANCES
It’s not known whether Wan – who was jailed for more than 14
years for attempted murder, loan sharking and money laundering –
will return to the business.
Wan’s swift exit from the hilltop prison, nestled on a small
island a short drive from the neon casino lights, is a marked
difference to his heyday when he courted media attention and
helped produce a movie called “Casino” about a self-styled triad
boss waging violent street battles for control of Macau’s
casinos.
Wan’s family members, lawyers and former associates declined
to comment on his plans, though his brother Kuok-hung – himself
jailed for five years in 1999 – has carved out a career in the
VIP junket business. Wan was visited in jail by his brother and
mother earlier this week.
While few predict Wan’s release will spark a return to
Macau’s darker days, the authorities are taking no chances.
Last weekend, a number of Wan’s former associates were
arrested in a sting operation on suspicion of planning to commit
murder. One of those picked up was former police officer Artur
Chiang Calderon, who was first arrested in 1998 with Wan over a
string of bomb attacks and bloody gang wars.
“We are well equipped to handle all situations,” a
spokeswoman for Macau’s judiciary police said, amid local media
reports of tightened security and vigilance at casinos.
“This is Beijing. They want to send a strong message by
doing this,” said a senior casino executive.
Kenny Leong, chief executive of Nasdaq-listed Asia
Entertainment and Resources Ltd and one of Macau’s
leading VIP gambling room promoters, did not expect much impact
from Wan’s freedom. “Things are completely different now.
Everything is more professionally managed,” he said.
“It’s a different era from before. Right now, the time is
not hitting and killing.”
Wan, a stocky man with often garish sartorial taste, is said
to be unable to straighten the middle two fingers of one hand
after being mangled by meat cleavers in a street fight. Locals
say he was a common sight, driving around Macau in a mauve
Ferrari.
“He was very, very influential in his time,” said a former
head of criminal intelligence in the Hong Kong police force, who
specialised in anti-triad enforcement. “He was influential
because of fear. He was extremely violent and took over a lot of
businesses in a violent manner.”
Earlier this week, a new, white Toyota Vellfire spacewagon
pulled out of a gated compound and wound its way up to the
heavily-fortified hilltop prison, where a stylish lady with long
hair and dark glasses stepped out with a shy-looking,
bespectacled teenage son wearing sneakers.
After an hour-long visit, Wan’s wife and son declined
comment when asked by Reuters how they felt about being reunited
as a family. “I have nothing to say,” said Wan’s wife.
