Flu wave is easing: govt

The Health Bureau (SSM) said in a statement yesterday that the number of influenza patients seeking treatment at the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre has decreased over the past week.The bureau also said that there was no need for local schools to bring schoolchildren’s Chinese New Year holidays forward because of the flu wave.The statement noted that the number of patients, both adults and minors, with flu-like symptoms seeking treatment in the emergency department at the public

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

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5,177 new firms set up in 2017

The number of newly registered companies rose by 785 year on year to 5,177 last year, reversing a decline in the previous two years, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.According to a DSEC statement, the total value of the newly incorporated companies’ registered capital rose by 1,013 percent to 8.2 billion patacas, mainly due to the incorporation of large-capital companies in the financial services sector.A total of 803 companies were wound up last year, involving a

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

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Tam doubts feasibility of health insurance system

Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng yesterday expressed doubts as to whether it would be feasible to implement a health insurance system in Macau.Tam attended a plenum in the legislature’s hemicycle which discussed a debate motion jointly proposed by directly-elected lawmakers Becky Song Pek Kei and Si Ka Lon.The legislature passed the duo’s debate motion in December, which questioned whether a city-wide health insurance system should be established in

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

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‘Fiery’ dealer surrenders: police

A local man who caused a fire when stealing a motorcycle helmet surrendered to the police on Friday, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said during a regular press conference yesterday.Choi identified the suspect as a 31-year-old surnamed Lai, who works as a dealer in a casino.Choi said that on Thursday morning, the police received a report from the Fire Services Bureau (CB) about a suspected arson case at a parking space for scooters and motorcycles in Rua Norte do Patane. The fire

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

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Dealer helps gamblers cheat casino: police

The police arrested three suspects on Thursday for conniving to cheat a casino in Cotai out of a total of HK$450,000 last month, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Choi Ian Fai said during a regular press conference yesterday.Choi identified the suspects as a 48-year-old local woman surnamed Wong, who started to work as a croupier for the casino in 2015, a 44-year-old woman from the mainland surnamed Hu who claimed to be working in the convention and exhibition industry, and a 27-year-old man from

February 6, 2018 | BY admin

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Vietnamese dies in bathroom CO poisoning

A woman was pronounced dead of carbon monoxide poisoning yesterday at the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre, according to a statement by the Judiciary Police.The police identified the deceased as a 29-year-old Vietnamese woman surnamed Luu.Luu was a non-resident worker, but her form of employment was not revealed by the statement. Neither did the statement reveal whether the victim’s bathroom is windowless.The statement said that at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Luu went to have a shower

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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Forum doubts proposed rules will tame housing market

Guest speakers and members of the audience at yesterday’s Macau Forum said they believed that the government’s proposed rules to tame the residential property market – a new additional stamp duty – would not be useful to cool down the red-hot home market, aside from doing nothing to help residents buy their own flat.The guest speakers and audience members said they believed the key to the problem is the long-standing insufficient supply of flats in both the private and public housing

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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Court rejects lawmaker’s appeal against suspension

The Court of Second Instance (TSI) said in a statement yesterday that it does not have the authority to rule on political acts and, consequently, it decided not to hear an appeal by lawmaker Sulu Sou Ka Hou against his suspension from the legislature by his peers.The statement also said that for the same reason it decided last week to reject an interim injunction by Sou against his suspension.The statement said that the Judicial Organisation Framework Law (LBOJ) does not grant any court in

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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Authorities seize 600 kg of smuggled fresh food

The Macau Customs Service and the Food Safety Centre of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) have jointly seized about 600 kilogrammes of fresh food from 13 eateries and a vegetable stall that had been smuggled into the city and had therefore not undergone food inspections, the Customs Service has said in a statement.According to the statement on Friday, the two entities jointly seized 559.91 kilogrammes of vegetables, 4.43 kilogrammes of seafood and 37.7 kilogrammes of processed food

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt wants heavier penalty for typhoon rumour-mongers

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak has said that the government is proposing that culprits should face a heavier penalty than normal if they spread rumours during typhoons and other disasters.Wong made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Friday after overseeing the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Sit Chong Meng, at the Secretariat for Security (GSS) in the S. Francisco Barracks.Wong said he expected to request approval from Chief Executive

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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Suspected arsonist nabbed after leaving hospital

A suspect in an arson attack last year, which left a woman seriously injured and who is still hospitalised, was arrested after being discharged from hospital recently, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special press conference on Friday.The attack took place at a hardware shop in Rua de Martinho Montenegro in the afternoon of December 19.According to the spokesperson, the suspect is a 52-year-old local man surnamed Cheang, who owns a renovation and decorating company.PLEASE

February 5, 2018 | BY admin

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National security cases should be tried by Chinese judges: Chan

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan said yesterday that cases involving national security should only be tried by local judges holding Chinese nationality, as suggested by the government in its proposed amendments to the Judicial Organisation Framework Law.Chan made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a regular meeting of the Northern Districts Community Service Consultative Council, at the Government Service Centre in Areia Preta

February 2, 2018 | BY admin

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Mercury dips to 4.7 C, lowest in Feb since 1999

The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) recorded 4.7 degrees Celsius at 7 a.m. yesterday at its Big Taipa Hill monitoring station, the lowest so far this winter. The bureau said that the 4.7 degrees was the lowest temperature recorded in February since the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) on December 20, 1999.According to a database on the bureau’s website, the weather station previously recorded 4.8 degrees on February 12, 2014 as the lowest temperature

February 2, 2018 | BY admin

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Police nab 28 illegal casino money changers

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested 28 men and women from the mainland at the Venetian in Cotai yesterday for illegally engaging in currency-exchange activities, PJ spokesman Chan Cho Man said yesterday.Chan briefed the media yesterday evening at the Venetian after PJ officers took action to combat unlicensed money-changing activities on the premises or margins of local casinos.According to previous news reports, scores of illegal money changers walk around casinos asking gamblers if they wanted

February 2, 2018 | BY admin

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