In December, Chan Wing-hung, 45, a Hong Kong businessman...

In December, Chan Wing-hung, 45, a Hong Kong businessman who spent six months fighting from his Macao jail cell against extradition and a possible death sentence on the mainland, has chosen instead to be tried on the mainland because he believes he will get a fairer trial there. Just days before Portuguese rule comes to an end in the enclave, he was handed over to mainland Interpol agents after volunteering to go to Nanjing to face trial on US$30 million (HK$230 million) fraud charges. The move has brought stern eve-of-handover criticism of the Macao judicial system from his lawyers who claim it is becoming politicized. According to Chan's lawyer, Alberto Pablo, at last week's hearing to decide his future, Chan spoke out against judges in Macao's Supreme Court before signing a document which effectively paved the way for his own extradition. He has been detained in Macao since his arrest on arrival in the enclave on May 27 this year. Pablo said his view that Chan could face the death penalty was reinforced by rulings from Portugal's Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights on whether the crimes Chan is accused of could bring the death sentence. In previous similar cases, constitutional rulings from Lisbon have blocked extradition on the grounds that Portugal cannot extradite to a country which will impose the death penalty or to a state, like China, with which it has no extradition treaty. However, several bids in the Macao courts to have the businessman freed, including a writ of habeas corpus - wrongful detention - were rejected.