The government-appointed Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council held its regular monthly meeting yesterday, where various concerns about the safety of large events and illegal inns were raised by its members.
The three-hour meeting was held at the Seac Pai Van Community Complex (石排灣社區綜合大樓) in Coloane yesterday.
The first part of the meeting was open to the media, during which committee members raised various issues in their speeches. The meeting then proceeded behind closed doors. It included Judiciary Police (PJ) Gaming-related Crimes Division Chief Vong Chi Hou and Public Security Police (PSP) Islands Police Department senior officer Wong Wai Kit to present both police forces’ recent and future measures to ensure public safety in the runup and during the Chinese New Year (CNY) in Taipa, Cotai and Coloane, as well as during the winter.
In the post-meeting press briefing, the council’s deputy convenor Li Yongjian cited a PSP statement released to the councillors during meeting, according to which, in response to Macau’s visitor arrivals exceeding 40 million last year, the Public Security Police have implemented multiple measures for crowd management and security enhancement.
These include establishing temporary pedestrian zones and deploying additional police officers during holidays; implementing tidal flow crowd control and anti-collision arrangements for four outdoor concerts last year, with a total attendance exceeding 78,000; and ensuring rigorous security for national-level events such as the National Games, Li said.
During major events like the New Year’s Eve celebrations, the Public Security Police implemented crowd control measures in the Cotai Strip, with a total attendance exceeding 60,000, and at Hengqin Port (border checkpoint), Li said.
According to Li, the Public Security Police continue to conduct inspections of vehicles and bars, while collaborating with community organisations to promote crime prevention awareness.
Li quoted a statement presented by the Judiciary Police during the meeting on their 2025 “Winter Precaution Operation”, according to which 47 operations were conducted, 1,874 individuals were investigated, 276 cases were resolved, and 348 individuals were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further investigation. Regarding drug-related crimes, seven cases were cracked, 11 suspects were arrested, and various types of drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine (commonly known as meth) and cannabis, were seized.
Councillor Lam Tsz Kwan said that multiple concerns and suggestions were raised during the meeting by fellow councillors, such as enforcement against unlicensed guesthouses and illegal currency exchange activities in and around hotels; potential risks of random violent attacks in neighbouring cities and the impact of large-scale events on police force deployment; proposals to launch new technological measures, such as using IP addresses to trace unlicensed guesthouses and monitoring online crowd data to optimise crowd management, as well as the trend of younger attendees at large-scale events than before, and the issue of gatherings after spectators leave late-night events
Lam said the PSP officers told the meeting that the Public Security Police have been collaborating with the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) in clamping down on unlicensed guesthouses and maintaining communication with the property management.
Regarding large-scale events, Lam said that the Public Security Police have been coordinating with organisers in advance and strengthened public information on exit routes and transportation arrangements. Additionally, patrols are conducted in the surrounding areas after such events to ensure public safety, Lam said.
Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Deputy Convenor Li Yongjian (left) and Councillor Lam Tsz Kwan pose during yesterday’s press briefing after the government-appointed council’s closed-door meeting at the Seac Pai Van Community Complex in Coloane. – Photo: Armindo Neves
