Macau was a Portuguese colony prior to returning to Chinese rule. Macau abided by the laws of their colonisers prior to their transfer. After the transfer of sovereignty, Macau developed their own laws. These laws were based largely upon the Portuguese laws. The final death sentence was handed some time during the 19th century. Although capital punishment is prohibited in Macau, the process of extradition to The People's Republic of China and other countries is still permitted. The Hong Kong protests of 2019 have caused questions around the extradition of criminals from The People's Republic of China’s special administrative regions including Macau. This has caused responses from activists in Macau, who have joined the protests in Hong Kong. The Criminal Code of Macau dictates the penalties and rules regarding offences within the country. None of the articles present in the criminal code allow for the capital punishment as penalty for an offence. The Portuguese government did not permit the revoking of freedom via punishment. The government believed that every individual deserved freedom, thus abolishing capital punishment and life imprisonment. These sentiments were included in the law of Macau whilst colonised. The law regarding capital punishment was allowed to be retained when the country was transferred under the one country, two systems law.
