Macau’s total number of crimes reported in the first quarter of this year dropped by 7.3 percent year on year to 3,289 from the 3,549 reported in the same period of last year, while the police investigated 567 gaming-related crimes in the first three months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 61.5 percent from the same period of last year, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak announced yesterday.
According to Wong, the number of fraud cases recorded in the first quarter of this year decreased by 15.4 percent year on year to 555 from the 656 recorded in the same period of last year, among which the number of phone scam cases dropped by 22.9 percent year on year to 74, while the number of online fraud cases decreased by 24.5 percent year on year to 145.
Wong announced the 2025 January-March crime statistics during a press conference at S. Francisco Barracks yesterday, where Wong’s office is located.
Wong said that the police recorded 56 violent crime cases in the first quarter of this year, down 27.3 percent year on year, during which no homicides, or kidnappings and only one grievous bodily harm case were recorded, all unchanged from the same period of last year.
Wong also said that 10 rape cases were reported in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year decrease of four cases. He said that half of the rape victims in the first three months of this year were mainlanders, and all of their cases occurred in hotel guestrooms. He said that some of the rape victims from the mainland in the period were involved in financial disputes with the suspects, adding that the police did not rule out the possibility that their arguments were triggered by commercial sex work.
Wong also said that many of the local victims in the first quarter of this year were raped when they were heavily intoxicated after drinking alcohol.
Wong said that five cases of child sexual abuse, i.e., involving minors under the age of 14, were recorded in the first quarter of this year, up by one case year on year, adding that most of the cases involved consensual sex with peers of similar ages or were cases where the culprits sent pornographic photos or videos to the victims.
Wong said that 10 robbery cases were reported in the first quarter of this year, down by two cases year on year, adding that half of the cases occurred in or around casino-hotel resorts, with most of them involving illegal currency exchange dealers or casino loan sharks robbed when carrying out their deals.
Wong also said that the police recorded 12 drug trafficking cases in the first three months of this year, down by three cases year on year.
Wong also said that the police last month recorded Macau’s first attempted fraud involving the use of deepfakes, i.e., images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence (AI), adding that the police have so far not received any reports from victims reporting financial losses.
Meanwhile, Wong also said that the large year-on-year increase in the number of gaming-related crimes reported in the first quarter of this year was primarily due to the implementation of the new law criminalising illegal currency exchanges on and in the vicinity of casino premises, which took effect at the end of October last year.
Wong said that the police recorded 132 cases of illegal currency exchange activities on and in the vicinity of casino premises in the first quarter of this year, adding that the 132 cases accounted for about 60 percent of the year-on-year increase in the number of gaming-related crimes in the period.
Wong underlined that the implementation of the new law has been effective in significantly bringing down illegal currency exchange activities for gambling.
Meanwhile, when asked yesterday about comments on social media about Sunday’s case where a lorry driver attacked a traffic police officer, Wong noted that according to the Penal Code, those praising others on social media for perpetrating a crime may also face criminal charges.
According to Article 287 of the Penal Code, those praising others in public for having committed a crime face a prison term of up to six months if the offence may cause others to commit similar crimes.
Flanked by officials under his portfolio, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak (centre) speaks during yesterday’s press conference at S. Francisco Barracks. – Photo: Tony Wong
