A jobless mainland man with a criminal record of fraud and causing bodily harm was arrested early yesterday morning for assaulting a male passerby at about 9 a.m. on Monday at a hotel lobby in Cotai after taking drugs, and for alleged drug trafficking, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lou Chan Fai said during a special press conference.
According to Lou, the 54-year-old suspect surnamed Pan, who holds a Belizean passport, had been banned by the Macau authorities from entering the city for five years after having been arrested in 2014 and 2015 for causing bodily harm and fraud. Lou added that the 28-year-old local victim who sustained swelling on his face was admitted to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for outpatient treatment.
Lou said that the Judiciary Police were notified by the Public Security Police (PSP) at about 10 a.m. on Monday that a security guard of the hotel found drugs and drug-taking paraphernalia in Pan’s guestroom, adding that as the suspect was short-tempered and delirious he was also taken to the public hospital by PSP officers for treatment and a urine test. Pan tested positive for drugs.
The Judiciary Police arrested Pan at the hospital at about 5 a.m. yesterday, Lou said, adding that PJ officers conducted a search of his guestroom, where they found three packets of cocaine weighing 5.12 grammes. The estimated street value of the cocaine the police seized amounts to 17,000 patacas.
Under questioning, Pan admitted that the cocaine seized from his guestroom belonged to him, but refused to reveal where he had obtained the drugs. He also denied that he had attacked the victim, surnamed Ng, at the hotel lobby, according to Lou.
Pan was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, facing charges of drug abuse, drug trafficking, possession of drug-taking paraphernalia and causing bodily harm, Lou said, adding that as his parents’ names that Pan declared to the Judiciary Police this time were different to previous PJ records, Pan also faces a false identity declaration charge.
Police nab duo selling & buying drugs
Meanwhile, Lou said during a separate special press conference yesterday that the Judiciary Police arrested a 31-year-old mainland non-resident worker (NWR) and a 40-year-old local man on Sunday and Monday respectively for selling and buying drugs.
Lou noted that the drug seller from the mainland, who worked as a construction worker, is surnamed Wu, while the local buyer, who works as a driver, is surnamed Chou.
The Judiciary Police confirmed a tip-off received in September last year that Wu was selling drugs in Macau, involving a number of people, Lou said, adding that they conducted a joint investigation with the mainland’s Public Security Bureau (PSB).
The Judiciary Police were notified by their counterparts in the mainland on Sunday that Wu would smuggle drugs from Jiangmen to Macau, according to Lou, who noted that Wu was spotted entering Macau via the Barrier Gate checkpoint at about 5 p.m. on that day and was arrested when he arrived at Estrada dos Cavaleiros.
Lou said that six e-cigarette “vape bombs” containing the intravenous anaesthetic “Etomidate”, which is not a controlled drug in Macau, were found on him and at his home in the northern district.
Based on the evidence, PJ officers took Chou, from the city centre on Monday, in for questioning, during which Chou admitted that he had bought methamphetamine from Wu three times at a cost of about 1,500 patacas per packet. Chou tested positive for the drug, according to Lou.
The duo were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office yesterday, where Wu faces a drug trafficking charge, while Chou faces a drug-taking charge. Lou noted.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort one of the two drug suspects from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle yesterday. – Photo: William Chan
PJ officers escort the drug-taking and physical assault suspect from the mainland from the PJ headquarters to a vehicle yesterday. – Photo: Yuki Lei
