Council backs subsidy for buildings’ structural surveys

The Urban Renewal Council yesterday backed the government’s proposal to provide flat owners in old low-rise buildings with a new subsidy for structural surveys, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said.Rosario, who chairs the council, made the announcement after a closed-door meeting of the government-appointed council at the Transport Bureau (DSAT).Yesterday’s meeting was the council’s fourth meeting since it was established early this year when it replaced the

September 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Taiwanese steals friends’ HK$106,000 to gamble

A Taiwanese man, who went with his two friends to report a theft case to the police, confessed during questioning that he was the one who stole HK$106,000 from his friends so that he could gamble.A Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson told a press conference yesterday that the 23-year-old suspect, surnamed Liao, came to Macau to gamble with his two friends on Saturday. All three are from Taiwan and have known each other since high school.The spokesperson said that after checking into a hotel in

September 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Gaming recovery helps imports: lawmaker

Lawmaker Dominic Sio Chi Wai said yesterday he believed that the recovery of gaming revenues will help boost Macau’s imports.Sio made the upbeat remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the general meeting of the Macau Importers and Exporters Association on its premises in the city centre.Sio, who chairs the association’s board of directors, said that the two-year decline in gaming revenues had caused a decrease in the amount of goods, particularly expensive and luxury goods,

September 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Firemen find 12 ‘bug bombs’ in flat after neighbour falls ill

A total of 12 insect killer foggers were yesterday set off inside a flat at a social housing estate in Ilha Verde releasing an excess amount of smoke that made one of the neighbours ill, government-owned broadcaster TDM reported.According to the report, the Macau Services Bureau (CB) was notified at around midday that there was smoke coming from a flat on the 23rd floor of the building.The report said that firemen rushed to the scene and broke into the flat, after no-one opened the door, where

September 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Groom gives horse sedatives before race: police

A local groom gave a horse sedatives before a race early this year, a spokesperson for the Judiciary Police (PJ) said during a regular press briefing yesterday.According to the spokesperson, the suspect surnamed Au, who is in his fifties, has been working as a groom for the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) for over 20 years.According to the webpage of the Macau Jockey Club (MJC) in Taipa, the company chaired by legislator-cum-gaming executive Angela Leong On Kei stables about 600 racing horses.PLEASE

September 13, 2016 | BY admin

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Uber continues after U-turn, police continue crackdown

App-based ridesharing service Uber said on Friday, its supposedly last day of operation in Macau, that out of gratitude for its local supporters it had decided to continue its service – which the government says is illegal.The company’s Asia-based executives had said in a signed letter released through local lawmaker Au Kam San on August 22 that September 9 would be the company’s last day in business in Macau as the government had still not authorised its ride-sharing app business and

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Chui starts visit to Portugal

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On arrived yesterday for a five-day official visit to Portugal at the invitation of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), Chui will also meet Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa and co-chair a meeting of the Macau-Portugal Joint Commission with Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva. According to a recent report by local government-owned broadcaster TDM, Costa is

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt orders removal of ‘carcinogenic’ mooncakes

Samples of mooncakes from a local hotel and a Hong Kong-based bakery were found to have excessive levels of a carcinogenic chemical, according to a statement released by the government on Friday.The statement said that 8.43 microgrammes per kilo of the carcinogenic chemical aflatoxin B1 were found in a sample of mooncakes from Pousada Marina Infante, a 4-star hotel located in Cotai, while 7.48 microgrammes per kilo were found in a sample from Hang Heung Bakery in Hong Kong.The statement was

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Flat owners group slams lawmaker for removing their stuff

Members of the Fa Seng Hong Tou Wai Yip Condominium Owners Association yesterday criticised lawmaker Fong Chi Keong for hiring workers to forcibly remove electronic advertising boards that the association had put up on the wall on the ground floor of the condominium.The association said that the communal area of a residential building – including the communal area on the ground floor – was owned by all flat owners, not only the owners of the shops on the ground floor, although Fong claimed

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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New holiday entitlement rules still in information-gathering stage: official

Labour Affairs Bureau Director (DSAL) Wong Chi Hong said yesterday that the planned revision of the Labour Relations Law concerning employees’ holiday entitlements was still “in the information gathering stage.”Wong made the remarks on the sidelines of a prize-giving  ceremony at the Macau Science Centre.The ceremony was held by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen).Wong said he could not say when the proposed amendments such as new rules on paternity

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Forum questions how 5-year goals can be achieved

Guest speakers and members of the audience at yesterday’s Macau Forum questioned how the government can ensure that the goals set in its first ever Five-Year Development Plan will be achieved.The government’s Policy Research Centre Director Lao Pun Lap, Vice Director Peter Ung Hoi Ian and Lei Ngan Leng, an advisor to Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On’s office, attended yesterday’s forum as guest speakers. An academic and a commentator were also guest speakers.The weekly open-air

September 12, 2016 | BY admin

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Chui ‘confident’ of meeting public housing demand

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said yesterday he was “very confident” that the government’s supply of public housing units will be able to meet public demand, when addressing a press conference on the final version of the government’s first ever Five-Year Development Plan.Chui, his five policy secretaries, Lei Ngan Leng, an advisor to Chui’s office, O Lam, who heads his office, and Victor Chan Chi Ping, who heads both the Government Information Bureau (GCS) and the Government

September 9, 2016 | BY admin

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Footballer steals diamond ring: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday announced the arrest of a footballer on suspicion of stealing a diamond ring from his female friend’s flat.PJ spokesman Tam Weng Keong identified the suspect as a 22-year-old Cameroonian surnamed Ema who plays football for a team in Macau.Tam said at a regular press conference yesterday that on Tuesday night, Ema met his female friend outside the building where she lives, so she could collect the shopping he had bought. However, Ema then asked the victim if

September 9, 2016 | BY admin

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Sands giving locals discounts to mark Parisian opening

Sands China is giving local residents two weeks of discounts at its non-gaming facilities across its seven hotel resorts to mark the opening of The Parisian on Tuesday.Sands China President Wilfred Wong Ying Wai made the announcement during a press conference yesterday at The Venetian, where he also announced a pyrotechnic and light show at the half-scale replica Eiffel Tower as part of the opening night activities of The Parisian.Wong said the special offers for residents with a valid Macau ID

September 9, 2016 | BY admin

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