Ho denies benefitting from outsourced contracts

Former ex-chief prosecutor Ho Chio Meng yesterday continued to deny that he illegally benefitted from the overpriced granting of a string of outsourced services and projects for the Public Prosecution Office (MP) to 10 “shell companies” over the past decade or so.Ho made the remarks in his defence on the fifth day of his trial by the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) yesterday.The trial is being conducted by a three-judge panel comprising TUI President Sam Hou Fai,

December 20, 2016 | BY admin

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Plans for ‘blue sky’ campus relocation underway

The planning for the relocation of the 15 campuses included in the government’s “Blue Sky Project” is progressing, Wong Kin Mou, who heads the Research and Educational Resources Department of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), said yesterday.Wong made the remarks during a press conference after a regular closed-door meeting of the government-appointed Non-Tertiary Education Committee, headed by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon

December 20, 2016 | BY admin

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Dog-racing deal extended to July 2018

The government has extended its concession for Macau Yat Yuen Canidrome Co. Ltd. to run greyhound racing to July 20, 2018, according to yesterday’s Official Gazette (BO).In July, the government said that the company must vacate its greyhound racetrack in Fai Chi Kei within two years. Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said in July that if the operator wants to continue dog racing, it would have to find another location, which would need to comply with

December 20, 2016 | BY admin

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Youths most satisfied with welfare, most dissatisfied with traffic

Young local people are most satisfied with the subsidies and welfare measures announced by the 2017 Policy Address while they are most dissatisfied with the government’s response to the city’s traffic problem, according to a survey conducted by a working group of the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (commonly known as Kai Fong). The survey’s definition of “young people” ranged from 18 to 45 years.The association’s youth

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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Group petitions CE for political reform

Members of the grassroots Macau Community Development Initiative (MCDI) submitted a petition, addressed to Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On, yesterday, urging him to launch political reforms for the chief executive (CE) and Legislative Assembly (AL) elections.Speaking to reporters after handing the petition to an official outside Government Headquarters, Helu Chan Kuok Seng, a board member of the association, said that the findings of previous surveys showed that 60 percent of local

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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Group calls for lower height of building near lighthouse

The grassroots New Macau Association (NMA) yesterday urged the government to come up with a solution to the height issue of a suspended residential building project near Guia Lighthouse, calling for the height of the unfinished high-rise to be lowered, so as to meet the area’s official height limit.The association made the remarks yesterday at its office, where President Scott Chiang Meng Hin and Vice-Presidents Jason Chao Teng Hei and Sulu Sou Ka Hou briefed the media about

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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Ho denies intention to benefit from outsourced contracts

Standing accused of leading a criminal organisation with the aim of obtaining illegal advantages by granting a string of outsourced services and projects for the Public Prosecution Office (MP) to 10 “shell companies” over the past decade or so, former ex-chief prosecutor Ho Chio Meng said last week that he did not pay attention to the details on the proposals granting outsourced contracts, submitted by his subordinates, before signing them.Ho made the remarks

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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6 groups, 2 residents to protest tomorrow: police

A total of six groups and two individuals will hold protests tomorrow, the 17th anniversary of the 1999 establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), a statement of the Public Security Police (PSP) said yesterday.According to the police, the Macau Workers’ Power Union, Union for the Protection of the Employment Rights of Local Workers, Macau Bar Benders Association, Macau Workers’ Alliance Association, Macau Democratic Action Association and two residents plan

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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Forum debates life poultry, bird flu dilemma

Panellists and members of the audience at yesterday’s Macau Forum discussed the dilemma of striking the right balance between providing consumers with live poultry and avoiding the avian influenza virus (AIV).The open-air debate is hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM in Areia Preta Park every Sunday.The topic was inspired by last week’s discovery of AIV-infected silkie chickens, which led to the city’s first human AIV patient.Panellists and members of the audience attend

December 19, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers pass tougher anti-drug bill

The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed a government-initiated amendment will which toughens the anti-drug law, slated to take effect 30 days after its promulgation in the Official Gazette (BO).The anti-drug law was enacted in 2009.The bill will increase the minimum prison term for the selling of drugs from the current three to five years.Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Chau Wai Kuong (left, front) speaks during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle as Secretary

December 16, 2016 | BY admin

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Union to march for locals’ job rights on Dec 20

The new Union for the Protection of the Employment Rights of Local Workers announced yesterday, at the office of grassroots lawmakers Au Kam San and Ng Kuok Cheong, that it will organise a protest march on December 20, the anniversary of the 1999 establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR), urging the government to give priority to the employment of local residents.The union’s President Wang Weize and several members jointly presided over yesterday’s press conference

December 16, 2016 | BY admin

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Macau will heed Beijing’s ‘instructions’ on building height near lighthouse: Ung

Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Guilherme Ung Vai Meng said yesterday that the Macau government will follow “instructions” by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) in Beijing about a suspended residential building project near Guia Lighthouse.After the lighthouse was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005, an executive order, gazetted in 2008, restricted the height of buildings surrounding the lighthouse, to a maximum of 52.20 metres.Built in 1864/65, it is

December 16, 2016 | BY admin

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Grassroots duo’s sex bill rejected

Only five out of 29 lawmakers voted yesterday in support of an amendment bill on sex crimes, listed in the Macau Penal Code, proposed by grassroots lawmakers Antonio Ng Kuok Cheong and Au Kam San.Nine lawmakers abstained from voting on the bill. There are a total of 33 lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly (AL); three were absent and, as is customary, the speaker of legislature did not vote.The duo’s bill proposed a separate category for indecent assault. Grassroots lawmaker Antonio Ng Kuok

December 16, 2016 | BY admin

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Japan might be threat to local casinos: Leong

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday that Japan’s future casino operations were potentially a threat to the local gaming industry.Leong made the remarks when speaking to reporters after a closed-door meeting of the government’s Convention and Exhibition Industry’s’ Development Committee at the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).Lifting a long-standing ban on casino operations to boost the country’s economy, the upper house of

December 16, 2016 | BY admin

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