Govt to revive point system for HOS applicants: Rosario

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said yesterday the government agreed that its points-based system should be relaunched for the allocation of subsidised home-ownership scheme (HOS) flats.Rosario attended a plenum in the legislature’s hemicycle which discussed a debate motion by directly-elected lawmaker Au Kam San.The government’s public housing programme comprises HOS flats and social rental housing units. The government’s current public housing policy is that

August 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Court convicts 6, acquits 3 in trial related to ex-top prosecutor’s graft case

Three of the nine defendants in a trial related to convicted former chief public prosecutor Ho Chio Meng were acquitted yesterday while the other six were sentenced to two to 14 years behind bars.Ho was sentenced to 21 years behind bars last month for over 1,500 crimes including corruption, fraud, embezzlement, organised crime, money laundering and unjustified wealth. He was also sentenced to pay 18.36 million patacas to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) as well as more than 57 million patacas

August 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Police nab S Korean stealing for a living

A South Korean man was caught on Monday for stealing money and valuables from various shops to support himself after gambling away all his money, according to a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson yesterday.The spokesperson said the suspect, surnamed Jung, is a 48-year-old overstayer.According to the spokesperson, the suspect came to Macau as a tourist in 2015. Since losing all his money in local casinos, he has never left the city.The spokesperson said an antique shop owner reported to the

August 16, 2017 | BY admin

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Woman cheated out of US$1.46 million in online scam: police

A married woman has been cheated out of about US$1.46 million (11.7 million patacas) by a man who claimed to be a British petroleum engineer, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said yesterday.According to Choi, the victim is an unemployed local resident who is in her forties.Choi said the victim met the suspect on Facebook in March. After swapping phone numbers, they talked to each other on WhatsApp. Choi said the victim soon fell in love with the suspect.According to Choi, the victim

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Rosario rejects full subsidy for structural surveys

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said yesterday he did not agree with the idea that the government should pay the full cost of structural surveys arranged by flat owners for their old buildings.Rosario attended a plenum in the legislature’s hemicycle which discussed a debate motion by directly-elected lawmaker Mak Soi Kun.The legislature passed Mak’s debate motion last month, which questioned whether the government should require buildings that are at least 30

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Smart city project to cost extra 200 million patacas a year: govt

The government expects to spend an additional 200 million patacas a year for the next two years to implement projects related to Macau’s smart city development, the Government Spokesperson’s Office (GPV) said in a statement yesterday.The government early this month signed the Framework Agreement of Strategic Co-operation on Smart City Development with Alibaba Group to develop Macau into a smart city, by using Alibaba’s big data processing capabilities to enhance the quality of the

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt fixes campaign broadcasting ad slots

Each electoral group’s campaign advertisements will be aired on government-owned broadcaster TDM’s Chinese- and Portuguese-language TV channels 12 and eight times respectively during the official campaign period, according to yesterday’s Official Gazette (BO).The ads will be aired free of charge.The direct and indirect legislative elections will take place on September 17. A record 25 groups are competing for 14 seats in the direct election while six groups are running in the indirect

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Rent control article wouldn’t have been useful: lawmakers

Lawmaker Gabriel Tong Io Cheng told reporters yesterday that he abstained last week from voting on an article in the controversial landlord-tenant bill which proposed that the chief executive could have placed a cap on rent increases based on certain conditions, because he thought that the article would not have been useful to control rent rises.Fellow lawmaker Zheng Anting also told the media yesterday that he abstained from voting for the same article because he doubted the feasibility of the

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Studio City readies IPO in US

Melco Resorts and Entertainment’s Studio City announced yesterday that Studio City International Holdings (SCIH) has submitted on a confidential basis to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a draft registration statement for a possible initial public offering (IPO) of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) representing ordinary shares of SCIH.According to the announcement, the number and US dollar amount of ADSs proposed to be offered and sold have not yet been determined.The

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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MGM bets on ‘more-affluent’ mainland customers

HONG KONG – MGM Resorts International is counting on a growing number of affluent mainland Chinese customers to drive revenue at its upcoming Cotai property, as it strives to catch up with an industry rebound in the special administrative region.The Las Vegas-based company’s US$3.3 billion resort in Cotai, its second property in Macau that is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter, aims to cater more to the mass-market gambler than the exclusive high-rollers crowd, according to CEO James

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Fujian culture-fest to promote B&R Initiative

The Macau Citizens Federation will hold its annual Macau Fujian Cultural Festival to promote Chinese tea culture and, for the first time, the nation’s Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, the federation’s Chairman Sze Lee Ah said yesterday.Addressing a press conference about the festival at the Golden Court restaurant in Iao Hon, Sze said his group wanted to promote the country’s traditional tea culture to tourists and residents.The festival will take place from Friday to Sunday in Iao Hon

August 15, 2017 | BY admin

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Union wants govt to replace health vouchers with SVCs

The government should issue stored value cards (SVCs) to all permanent residents for its Healthcare Subsidy Scheme, instead of giving them new vouchers every year, Macau Federation of Trade Unions Vice President Leong Sun Iok said yesterday.Leong is a candidate in next month’s direct legislative election.Leong also urged the government to adjust the amount given out in the scheme and not to give the vouchers an expiry date.Leong made the remarks yesterday on the sidelines of an event

August 14, 2017 | BY admin

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Martial arts, lion dance well-preserved in Macau

The four-day 2017 Macau Wushu Master Challenge ended yesterday, attracting hundreds of wushu (“martial art”) masters from across the world to join in various wushu competitions, and display Chinese martial arts and traditional lion dance.Indeed, behind all of the hustle and bustle of shopping malls, casinos, hotels, and must-go tourists spots, traditional Chinese martial arts and lion dance are well-preserved in Macau, with many local residents sticking to their tradition of practicing

August 14, 2017 | BY admin

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Depression in Macau more prevalent than in HK, mainland: survey

Over 30,000 residents may be in need of mental health services, according to a survey conducted by the University of Macau (UM), which also showed that depression in Macau is more prevalent than in Hong Kong and the mainland.Citing the findings of the survey, a UM statement released on Friday said depression was most prevalent among women throughout their lives, senior citizens (aged over 65), and middle-aged men. The findings show that key correlates of depression are unemployment, divorce,

August 14, 2017 | BY admin

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