Group reschedules slow-drive protest

Lawmaker-cum-unionist Jose Pereira Coutinho announced yesterday afternoon that a slow-drive against the government’s “brutal” hike in vehicle-related fees would be staged on Saturday – but a few hours later said in a statement that the protest had been “rescheduled”.Saturday’s slow-drive was axed due to the organisers’ disagreement with the Public Security Police (PSP) about the protest route, according to the statement, which said that the slow-drive would be rescheduled sine

February 9, 2017 | BY admin

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Motor vehicle registrations drop 29 pct last year

The number of new registrations of motor vehicles dropped 29.1 percent year-on-year to 13,935 last year, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.While the number of new registrations of motorcycles fell 23.8 percent to 7,784, the number of new registrations of light automobiles dropped 38.6 percent to 5,395 last year.At the end of last year, the total number of licensed motor vehicles stood at 250,450, a year-on-year increase of 0.6 percent. While the number of motorcycles

February 9, 2017 | BY admin

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City’s terrorist threat remains low: govt

Although the city’s terrorist threat remains “low”, the Public Security Forces will further strengthen their assessment of possible security risk factors and improve their law enforcement efforts, the Office of the Secretariat for Security said in a statement yesterday.The office said it decided to issue the statement in response to recent media reports about possible terrorist attacks in Macau.The South China Morning Post recently published an article which quoted a Hong Kong-based risk

February 9, 2017 | BY admin

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No plans for shipyard plots yet: Rosario

No plans have yet been made for Lai Chi Vun Village in Coloane where 11 derelict shipyards are to be demolished beginning next month, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said yesterday.Rosario made the remarks on the sidelines of an event held by the Macau Property Agents and Realty Developers Association at The Plaza Restaurant.The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) announced last month the demolition of 11 of 14 shipyards whose land-lease renewals had been refused by the

February 8, 2017 | BY admin

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Boy blackmailed over semi-nude video: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday announced an online blackmail case in which a local boy aged under 16 was deprived of his mobile phone after he sent video clips showing his naked torso to someone claiming to be a woman who he had met online and then threatened to share his semi-nude video clips with his friends online if he did not hand over his mobile phone to a male accomplice.The boy told his family what had happened and they reported the case to the police after he was told by the

February 8, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt to provide 700 elderly care home places

The chief of the Social Solidarity Department of the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) said yesterday that 700 additional elderly care home places will become available in the next two to three years.Choi Sio Un made the remarks while speaking to reporters yesterday after attending a closed-door meeting of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council, which was held at a community service centre run by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) in Taipa.Choi Sio Un, who heads the

February 8, 2017 | BY admin

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Govt won’t resume live poultry sales until it’s safe: Chan

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said yesterday that the government has not yet come up with a timetable to resume the sale of live poultry until it can confirm that the potentially fatal bird flu does not pose a threat to consumers. Asked by reporters, after a committee meeting at the legislature, when the ban on selling live poultry will end, Chan said the government needed to discuss the issue with the mainland authorities. “It depends on the result of the

February 8, 2017 | BY admin

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6 rogue cops stand trial for abetting illegal entries & exits

Six Public Security Police (PSP) officers went on trial at the Court of First Instance (TJB) yesterday for a range of alleged crimes such as offering banned travellers illegal entries, stays and exits in Macau for cash.  The sextet were arrested in January last year on suspicion of assisting a loan-sharking gang by leaking confidential police information, arranging illegal entries and exits for travellers banned from the city and “shielding” them during their illegal stays in

February 8, 2017 | BY admin

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2-stroke engine vehicle subsidy plan to begin next week

Residents can apply for the government’s subsidy to scrap scooters and other kinds of vehicles with two-stroke engines starting next Wednesday until the end of June, Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) Vice Director Ip Kuong Lam said yesterday.Ip made the announcement while addressing a press conference about the plan at the bureau.  Ip said the 3,500 pataca subsidy scheme, promulgated by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On yesterday and taking effect today, aims to encourage

February 7, 2017 | BY admin

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Man nabbed for abusing wife for 2 ½ years

A Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday a local man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly abusing and raping his wife on multiple occasions for about two and a half years, adding that the suspect had also choked his son with a belt and clothes hanger at least twice.  According to the spokesperson, the suspect, surnamed Wu, is a 44-year-old casino security guard while his 40-year-old wife is unemployed. The couple have been married for 19 years with two sons aged 18 and

February 7, 2017 | BY admin

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Group urges govt to make better use of crowd control measures

The Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations yesterday urged the government to make better use of its crowd control measures, which the government implements across the city centre during peak holiday periods by diverting the large number of tourists to the old quarters surrounding the major sightseeing spots in the city centre, with the aim of boosting business there. The association is commonly known as Kai Fong, its name in Cantonese. Lei Cheok Kuan, a vice-president of

February 7, 2017 | BY admin

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Lawmaker slams govt for ‘sluggish’ legislative process

Lawmaker Melinda Chan Mei Yi slammed the government yesterday for its “sluggish” legislative process, saying that the government should not use the argument that “the lawmakers might not have enough time to review the bill” as an excuse for not submitting its consumer rights protection amendment bill to the legislature before the end of its current term. After Sunday’s Macau Forum open-air debate in Areia Preta Park, Consumer Council (CC) Executive Committee President Wong Hon

February 7, 2017 | BY admin

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Union calls for subcontracting rules

The Macau Federation of Trade Unions yesterday urged the government to finish drafting a by-law regulating the practice of subcontracting in the construction sector as soon as possible, with the aim of helping solve labour disputes affecting workers hired by subcontractors.The federation, the city’s number-one trade union organisation, is commonly known as Gung Luen, its name in Cantonese. Indirectly-elected lawmaker Ella Lei Cheng I, a vice-president of the federation, made the appeal

February 7, 2017 | BY admin

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270 cases of car park ‘misuse’ last year: govt

A total of 270 cases in which motor vehicle owners “misused” public car parks were recorded last year, 72 more than in 2015, or 36.4 percent, the Transport Bureau (DSAT) said in a statement yesterday.According to public car park regulations, a motor vehicle cannot be parked in a car park for more than eight consecutive days, except if the owner has a monthly pass. If the owner breaks the rule, the car park management can ask the Public Security Police (PSP) to clamp the vehicle. The

February 6, 2017 | BY admin

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