Hong Kong street singer Oliver Ma, who had previously been arrested for singing “Glory to Hong Kong” on the streets of Hong Kong, was taken away by the police while busking in Macau a few days ago. He was detained for 13 hours and then deported and banned from entering Macau for one year. Mr. Ma said that he felt his life “was under threat” at the time and described it as the “most dehumanizing” detention he has ever encountered.
On Sept. 10, Mr. Ma posted on Facebook that he traveled to Macau with his family on Sept. 3. After lunch, he started busking near the Ruins of St. Paul’s. As soon as he finished the first song, the police arrived and demanded that he stop performing. He and his family were taken to the police station, where they were asked to sign several documents, which the police claimed were mere “records.”
Nevertheless, they were reminded that “this is Macau.” At around 2 p.m., Mr. Ma and his family were released, but Mr. Ma was immediately recalled to continue the investigation. The police officer first said he would be fined 600 Pataca (US$74), but then demanded that he unlock his phone and transferred him to another police station.
Mr. Ma said that he had asked to contact a lawyer, and the police officer initially agreed, asking if the lawyer was in Macau. When Mr. Ma replied that the lawyer was not in Macau, the officer suddenly changed his attitude, slammed the table, and said, “This is Macau.” Mr. Ma described that he felt his life was in danger and that “he must cooperate and answer all their questions, otherwise he may be beaten up, or even sent to China.” Later, when the police officer asked him about his singing of “Glory to Hong Kong” in Hong Kong, he realized why the police officer was hostile to him. Mr. Ma was detained for 13 hours and deported back to Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge at 3 a.m. on Sept. 4.
Mr. Ma felt that he was not treated like a tourist, but more like a terrorist recounting his experience in Macau. He believed that this was the most dehumanizing experience he had ever had among the many arbitrary arrests and detentions he had faced due to his street performance. He said he had only sung one or two songs in Macau and was arrested without prior warning, detained for 13 hours, and then expelled. He was even banned from entering Macau for a year. Mr. Ma also said that the authorities asked him to keep the incident confidential, but he decided to make it public.
In response to the incident, Macau Judiciary Police responded on Sept. 11 that on Sept. 3, the Public Security Police Bureau had transferred a Hong Kong man to the Judiciary Police Station for investigation. According to the bureau’s investigation, the person mentioned above had publicly sung “songs endangering national security,” leading the police to question him within the scope of their legal authority. After completing the investigation, the Judiciary Police transferred him to the Public Security Police Station for further processing. The Judiciary Police also claimed that the accusations made by the person mentioned above against the police officer “completely deviated from the objective facts in place,” and it was categorized as “slander against the police department.” They also threatened to initiate criminal proceedings against him for allegedly violating Article 181 of the Macau Penal Code. The police department had opened a file for the case to investigate any possible criminal liability.
Article 181 of the Macau Penal Code stipulates the crime of infringing upon a legal person exercising the power of a public authority. It refers to the acts of assertions or dissemination of fabricated facts that are sufficiently slanderous to infringe upon the credit, prestige, or trust conferred to a legal person, institution, trade association, agency, or department exercising the power of a public authority.
