Macau’s number of reported computer crimes dropped 85.1 percent year-on-year to 48 in the first quarter of this year, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said in a statement yesterday.
The statement said that the “enormous” decrease, down by 274 cases from the first quarter of last year, was due to the local police forces’ strengthened cooperation with their counterparts in neighbouring regions in combating such crimes, as well as the local police forces’ strengthened public awareness campaigns.
“The various measures have brought the number of computer crimes down, and the number has been constantly dropping since the third quarter of last year. The reduction was more obvious in the first quarter of this year,” the statement said.
In the first three months of this year, the statement said, Macau’s various law enforcement agencies recorded 2,565 suspected crimes, a year-on-year decrease of 12 percent.
“Macau’s public security landscape remained good and stable in the first quarter of this year. The number of most types of crimes saw a decrease compared to the same period of last year, particularly violent crimes whose number saw an obvious drop,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the number of reported violent crimes fell 39.4 percent year-on-year to 43 cases in the first quarter of this year.
The police recorded six arson cases in the first quarter of this year, 12 cases less than in the same period of last year, or a 66.7 percent year-on-year reduction.
Four robbery cases were reported in the first three months of this year, five cases less than in the same period of last year.
Seven rape cases were reported in this year’s first quarter, one case down from last year’s corresponding period.
However, the statement said, the number of reported child sexual abuse cases increased 80 percent year-on-year to nine in the first quarter of this year, or four cases more than in the same period of last year.
Moreover, four cases of sex (such as vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or oral sex) with a minor aged at least 14 but under 16 were reported in this year’s first quarter, three cases up year-on-year, or a 300 percent increase.
No homicide was recorded in the first quarter of this year.
The statement reaffirmed that no or very few serious violent crime cases such as kidnapping and grievous bodily harm were reported during the first quarter of this year.
However, the statement pointed out that a homicide case was reported earlier this month, i.e., in the second quarter, when two female mainlanders were found to have been murdered in a hotel guestroom in Cotai. The statement noted that the suspect was arrested in a town in Huaihua (أh$ئ) city in Hunan province last week.
According to the statement, 16 drug-selling cases were reported in the first quarter of this year, three cases down from the same period of last year.
The statement also said that while the total number of reported fraud cases dropped 0.9 percent year-on-year to 321 in the first quarter of this year, or three case down, the number of reported telephone fraud cases saw a significant year-on-year increase of 275 percent in the first three months of this year, when 15 such cases were recorded, 11 cases up from last year’s corresponding period.
Impact of gaming sector on public security
The statement also included the local police forces’ assessment of the impact of the gaming sector on the city’s public security landscape.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Wong had refrained from commenting in the quarterly statements on the impact of the gaming sector on public security, saying that gaming-related crime statistics “were not representative and comparable” due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.
Yesterday’s statement, however, said that as the gaming sector is Macau’s pillar industry, various problems arising from its operation and development would possibly have an adverse impact on the city’s public security and social stability. The statement noted that the local government has proposed amendments to the city’s gaming industry law, which are being reviewed by lawmakers.
The statement said that gambling-related illegal currency exchange activities continue to have a certain adverse impact on the city’s public security.
The statement noted that Macau reported three homicide cases involving illegal money changers between 2019 and last year, adding that the double homicide case earlier this month might also have been related to illegal currency exchange activities.
The statement said that while Macau’s unemployment rate has been increasing since the first quarter of last year due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy, the total number of reported crimes has been dropping during the period. Consequently, the statement said, the local police have concluded that so far the ongoing rise in unemployment rate has had no impact on the city’s public security.
The statement noted that the local government decided earlier this month to propose a revised version of the gaming industry amendment bill that would allow the continuation of gaming operators’ so-called “satellite casinos” run by third parties in real-estate not owned by the operators, adding that the revised version of the bill would “help the operators of satellite casinos eliminate their concerns about their future business prospects, and consequently would help relieve the gaming sector’s unemployment predicament resulting from the serious ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Flanked by officials under his portfolio, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak (front) speaks to reporters at the Services Platform Complex for Commercial Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries in Nam Van after last month’s opening ceremony of the annual national security education exhibition. Photo: GCS
