Security forces face severe staff shortage: Wong

Addressing a Q&A session in the legislature’s hemicycle yesterday, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said that the security forces were facing a severe staff shortage, adding that a large number of additional officers were needed to cope with the rising workload.Wong made the remarks when answering questions from several lawmakers on the first of the two-day Q&A session about his portfolio’s policy guidelines for next year.Wong and several other senior officials of his portfolio

November 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Indonesian busted for drug trafficking

A 37-year-old Indonesian man was arrested on Sunday for selling and taking drugs, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a special press briefing yesterday.According to the spokesperson, PJ officers were tipped off last month about someone taking drugs in a hotel room, and identified the Indonesian suspect, surnamed Sandjaja, after investigating.  Sandjaja had already left the city by the time he was identified as the suspect. However, he re-entered Macau on Sunday night via the

November 29, 2016 | BY admin

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7,500 jobless among 397,000 labour force: official

Some 7,500 people among Macau’s 397,000-strong labour force were jobless in the August-October employment survey period, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday. According to a DSEC statement, the jobless rate remained unchanged period-on-period and year-on-year. The previous employment survey covered the July-September period. The labour force participation rate stood at 72.3 percent, down 0.9 percentage

November 29, 2016 | BY admin

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At least 4 locals cheated in concerts ticket scam: police

At least four locals were cheated out of a total of about 93,000 patacas after failing to receive concert tickets they purchased online, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a regular briefing yesterday. According to the spokesperson, the four victims in the three cases are aged between 21 and 28, adding that they attempted to buy tickets for a Twins gig and a Jay Chou Chieh-lun concert taking place in Hong Kong and Macau respectively.According to the spokesperson, a similar

November 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Ex-casino supervisor urges probe into ‘unreasonable’ sacking

A former gaming-table supervisor who says that she has been fired “unreasonably” urged the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) yesterday to investigate her case.She made the remarks outside the bureau, accompanied by members of the New Macau Gaming Workers’ Rights Union.The local woman, surnamed Chao, told reporters that she was “falsely” accused of giving a customer an unfair advantage and was fired in September last year by Galaxy Entertainment Group, where she had been working for four

November 29, 2016 | BY admin

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Official pledges open bidding for car park deals

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) will do its best to change short-term car park management contracts into long-term contracts through open tendering, Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Kelvin Lam Hin San said yesterday.Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a road-safety awareness event held by the bureau at the Macau Federation of Trade Unions' Workers Stadium near the Barrier Gate, Lam said that about 30 public car parks were currently under short-term management contracts, but would be changed to

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Chui praises Macanese community

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On yesterday praised the “indispensable” role of the Macanese community as a “bridge of communication and exchanges between different cultures”. Chui made the remarks when addressing the opening ceremony of the 2016 Gathering of the Macanese Communities at Sheraton Grand Macao yesterday evening. Chui pointed out that “generations and generations of Macanese have lived and worked in this beautiful place that is Macau”, underlining that the

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Taiwan facilitates local Portuguese passport holders: group

An ad-hoc group consisting of local alumni who studied in Taiwan yesterday welcomed the new measures, announced by the Taiwanese authorities recently, to make it easier for local pupils whose Portuguese passports were issued after Macau’s 1999 reversion to the mainland to study in Taiwan.The convener of the ad-hoc group, Sulu Sou Ka Hou, made the remarks to reporters in Areia Preta Park after attending yesterday’s Macau Forum programme hosted by government-owned broadcaster TDM.According to

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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ExCo finishes discussion of sex crime bill

The Executive Council (ExCo) has finished discussing the government’s draft of an amendment bill on sex crimes listed in the Macau Penal Code, according to a statement by the government’s top advisory body on Friday.The government carried out a public consultation on the proposed amendments from December last year to February this year.The government published a report on the public consultation on Friday.PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN OUR PRINT EDITION.

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Taxi group chief wants govt to back e-hailing

Macau Taxi Association Vice-Chairman Tai Kam Leong said yesterday he believed the sector would like to provide e-hailing, adding that the government’s support was necessary to get the service off the ground. E-hailing is the process of ordering a car, taxi, limousine, or any other form of transportation pick-up via a computer or mobile device, according to Wikipedia. The “e” stands for electronic and “hailing” refers to the traditional way of signalling an approaching taxi to

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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IT enhances economic diversification: expert

Information technology (IT) can help the city develop a diversified economy, Macau Computer Chambers Director Au Ka Fai said yesterday during a forum held by think tank Macau Wisdom Convergence Network at Flower City Garden in Taipa.Being one of the guest speakers at the forum titled “Economic Diversification”, Au said Macau could take advantage of its prosperous gaming industry and establish itself as a base for developing gaming machines. He said the city had the potential to thrive

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Forum backs govt’s pupils’ assessment plan

Guest speakers and members of the audience at yesterday’s Macau Forum supported the government’s plan requiring the city’s schools to assess their pupils’ performance by using a diverse range of tools, as opposed to the current situation in which local schools are primarily using written tests and exams to evaluate their pupils.Currently, there are no specific rules stipulating the ways local schools have to assess their pupils – meaning that the schools are allowed to implement their

November 28, 2016 | BY admin

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Nude online chat extortion rises 61 pct: Wong

Reported extortion cases related to online nude chat rooms rose 61.5 percent in the first nine months year-on-year, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday.Wong revealed the figure during a press conference about the city’s crime figures in the first three quarters at the Secretariat for Security (GSS) in the S. Francisco Barracks. According to the press conference, the number of reported online nude chat extortions rose from 26 cases in the first nine months of last year to

November 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Mongolian nabbed for pickpocketing on buses

An 18-year-old Mongolian man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of five cases of pickpocketing on buses since last month, a spokesperson for the Judiciary Police (PJ) said during a special briefing yesterday.The spokesperson said the suspect, surnamed Munkhtuya, told the police that he was a student.According to the spokesperson, a woman called the police on Wednesday, saying that she noticed the suspect, who was standing next to her on a bus, stealing from her handbag. Judiciary

November 25, 2016 | BY admin

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