IPIM passes 65 residency scheme applications to judiciary

Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Jackson Chang said yesterday that since 2013 his institute had transferred 65 applications for its two temporary residency schemes to the judiciary for further investigation or follow-up on suspicion that they involved regulatory breaches or even criminal offences.Chang also said that his institute would carefully study this week’s hard-hitting report by the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) on the findings of an investigation

July 4, 2018 | BY admin

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Lawmaker resumes seat after suspension

Previously suspended lawmaker Sulu Sou Ka Hou resumed his seat in the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday morning after the legislature had finally received a notification from the Court of First Instance (TJB) confirming that last month’s judgement which imposed a fine on him for illegal assembly and demonstration has become legally binding.Following the resumption of his legislative duties, Sou, a member of the legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee, then attended a closed-door meeting of

July 4, 2018 | BY admin

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Councillor worries about progress of Taipa market expansion

The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said in March that the expansion of its Taipa Municipal Market was set to be completed by the end of this year or early next year, but there’s still nothing going on there, Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council member Jiang Xuchun said yesterday.Jiang made the remarks during a monthly meeting of the council at the Islands District Public Services Centre in Taipa.During a meeting with Taipa and Coloane residents in March, IACM

July 4, 2018 | BY admin

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Councillors urge govt to tackle city’s rodent menace

Cristina Ho Hoi Leng, deputy convener of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council, said yesterday that as rats and mice are frequently spotted in Taipa, Coloane and other parts of Macau, she’s urging the government to do more to tackle the city’s rodent menace and other public hygiene issues.Ho made the comments during a regular meeting of the council at the Islands District Public Services Centre in Taipa.“Local residents are very concerned about the Civic and

July 4, 2018 | BY admin

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Graft busters slam IPIM’s residency schemes

The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) in a hard-hitting report released yesterday slammed the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) for failing to properly assess applications for temporary residency granted by the institute through its “major investment immigration” and “specialist immigration” schemes.The latter scheme is for managerial personnel and specialist and professional qualification holders hired by local employers.The CCAC says in the report that the

July 3, 2018 | BY admin

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Hotel guests rise 4.7 pct in May

Macau’s 115 hotels and guesthouses recorded 1.17 million guests in May, a year-on-year growth of 4.7 percent, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced. The number of mainland Chinese guests rose 11 percent to 798,000. Hong Kong and Taiwan guests dropped 11.1 percent and 10.5 percent to 123,000 and 40,000 respectively. South Koreans continued to be the local hospitality industry’s biggest foreign guest segment. However, their numbers dropped 8.3 percent to 40,000.PLEASE

July 3, 2018 | BY admin

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Lawmakers pass judiciary amendment bill

The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed the outline of a government-initiated amendment bill on the Judicial Organisation Framework Law, proposing, among other things, that all cases involving national security would only be tried by local judges holding Chinese nationality.The bill also proposes that the government’s policy secretaries, the legislature’s president and the chief prosecutor charged with a criminal offence would be tried by the Court of Second Instance (TSI) in the

July 3, 2018 | BY admin

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Worker dies after falling off ladder

A local worker died early yesterday after falling off a ladder in Taipa last month, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lai Man Vai said during a regular press conference yesterday.Lai identified the deceased as a 58-year-old man surnamed Wong.According to media reports last month, a local male worker in his fifties, who was renovating a bank branch in Taipa, was believed to have fallen two metres off a ladder on June 23. His colleagues took the semi-conscious man to the private Kiang Wu

July 3, 2018 | BY admin

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Police record 399 taxi violations last month

The Public Security Police (PSP) recorded 399 taxi violations last month, with 331 of them concerning overcharging and refusing hire, PSP spokesman Leong Wa Chi announced during a regular police press conference yesterday.June’s figures show a month-to-month decrease of recorded taxi violations amid the recent public outcry against taxi violations. In April, the Public Security Police (PSP) recorded 539 taxi violations, including 328 about overcharging and 108 about refusing hire, while in

July 3, 2018 | BY admin

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Tourist caught stealing from church donation box: police

A male tourist from the mainland was arrested by the Public Security Police after caught stealing from a donation box at the Roman-Catholic Cathedral in the city centre, a PSP spokesperson said during a regular news press conference on Friday.The spokesperson identified the suspect as a man in his twenties surnamed Meng.According to the spokesperson, on Thursday afternoon a security guard at the cathedral spotted three men acting suspiciously inside the church. Later Meng – one of the trio

July 2, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt expects San Ma Lou roadworks to be completed on schedule

An official from the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), who attended yesterday’s Macau Forum, said that the ongoing two-month roadworks in the city’s busy Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro was “well” underway and that his bureau believes that the roadwork project can be completed late next month, or in early September as initially planned.Popularly, the avenue is known as San Ma Lou (“New Thoroughfare”).The weekly debate programme is hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM every

July 2, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt still working on kindergarten sex abuse probe

Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) Deputy Director Kong Chi Meng said yesterday that the one month that his bureau had said it needed to investigate the alleged sexual abuse at the private D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten did not include the time needed for translation and other processing work, hence the bureau had yet to release its findings and report.Kong made the remarks during a media interview on the sidelines of an inauguration ceremony of a youth internship programme

July 2, 2018 | BY admin

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June casino receipts grow 12.5 percent

The casino sector’s total gross revenue from games of chance rose 12.5 percent year on year to 22.49 billion patacas last month, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) announced yesterday.According to DICJ statistics, last month’s revenue was the lowest of any month since September last year. Gaming receipts in the first half of the year rose 18.9 percent year on year to 150.2 billion patacas.PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION.

July 2, 2018 | BY admin

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Hundreds protest against local crematorium plans

Hundreds of residents yesterday protested against the possible construction of a crematorium in Macau, saying that it is not suitable for the densely populated city to have a crematorium anywhere on its tiny land area of just 30.5 square kilometres.At the end of March, Macau had a population of 656,700, or 21,531 inhabitants per square kilometre.The demonstrators urged the government to not only suspend its plan to build Macau’s first crematorium at Taipa Sa Kong Municipal Cemetery but also

July 2, 2018 | BY admin

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