Activists complain about ‘nepotism’ to prosecutors

The grassroots New Macau Association (NMA) complained yesterday about Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan and her predecessor, Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan, to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for alleged nepotism.Sonia Chan Hoi Fan and Florinda da Rosa Silva Chan are not related.Former Prosecutor General Ho Chio Meng disclosed the alleged nepotism during his ongoing trial for alleged corruption in the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) last month.Ho said Sonia Chan and

January 19, 2017 | BY admin

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Macau airport operator vows further expansion

Local airport operator CAM said yesterday that it would push ahead with developing more facilities at the airport, to cope with the rising number of passengers for the next two decades.The company hosted a press conference yesterday about its future infrastructure development plan, at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cotai.The Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM) on Monday released the revised version of a development plan for the airport for the next 20 years.Vicki Mou In Lai, who heads the Corporate

January 19, 2017 | BY admin

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Local banks to launch mobile payment

Seven local banks will link-up with Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (JETCO) to provide a mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) fund transfer service to bank account holders in Macau in the second half of this year, JETCO Chief Executive Officer Angus Choi Ping Chung said yesterday.According to a JETCO statement, the company was established in 1982. It has more than 30 member banks in Hong Kong and Macau. JETCO has three core businesses: local and cross-region ATM services, an e-commerce platform

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Lawmakers pass Soares condolence motion

Lawmakers yesterday passed a motion by lawmaker-cum-unionist Jose Pereira Coutinho to express the legislature’s deep sorrow over the demise of former Portuguese president Mário Soares who passed away in Lisbon on January 7, aged 92.According to the Legislative Assembly Procedure Rules, lawmakers can present a motion to “express a wish”. Article 50 of the rules says that the “wishes” a lawmaker can express concern congratulations, condolences, greetings, praise, objection and

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Leong pledges more info on public projects

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac told the legislature yesterday that the government would strive to be more transparent about the way it reveals information on public projects to the legislature.The legislature yesterday passed a report on an in-depth review drafted by the 3rd Standing Committee, regarding the government’s 2015 budget implementation.Leong made the remarks during yesterday’s plenary session which discussed the report drafted by the committee, which was

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Panda twins & parents to meet public during Chinese New Year

Macau’s giant panda twins Kin Kin and Hong Hong will meet the public for the first time with their parents, Hoi Hoi and Sam Sam, during the Chinese New Year holiday, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said yesterday.Kin Kin and Hong Hong, the male twins’ names in Cantonese, mean “healthy” when combined as “kin hong”. They are the giant pandas naturally conceived and born at the Giant Panda Pavilion in Coloane on June 26 last year, the first giant pandas ever born in

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Square metre price rises 32 pct

The average residential property price per square metre rose 32.1 percent year-on-year to 103,805 patacas last month, the Finance Services Bureau (DSF) announced yesterday. Month-on-month, the price rose 14.7 percent.Residential property in Taipa recorded the city’s highest price, at 116,110 patacas per square metre. The price stood at 106,143 patacas per square metre in Coloane and at 84,938 per square metre in the peninsula.A total of 1,211 units changed hands last month, 67 more than in

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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MGM delays opening in Cotai

MGM China Holdings said in a statement yesterday that MGM COTAI, which was originally scheduled to open by the end of last year, is “now expected to open during the second half of 2017.”The statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said that “given the complexity of the design of MGM COTAI and the company’s commitment to a successful opening that reflects the demands of the current market, the expected opening of MGM COTAI will be adjusted from the second quarter of 2017 to the second

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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2 casino operators grant bonuses

Gaming operators Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) and MGM announced yesterday bonuses for their non-managerial staff.MCE said in a statement that the one-month discretionary bonus for its non-management staff would be paid out before Chinese New Year, which falls on January 28.MCE Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho Yau-lung said in the statement that the company had accomplished many good results last year due to the support of its staff, adding that with a “refined management structure” allowing

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Gaming tax not only factor for casinos’ competitiveness: Leong

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said yesterday that the gaming tax rate was not the only factor in determining the local gaming industry’s competitiveness.Leong made the remarks on the sidelines of a press conference at the Macau Chamber of Commerce about local gaming operators’ procurement partnerships with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The policy secretary made the remarks in response to a question by a reporter as to whether the government planned to

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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CE says will support trade union’s work

The newly-elected chairman of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, Chan Kam Meng, said yesterday that Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On would continue to support his federation’s work, particularly on enhancing the training services that his union provides, with the aim of assisting the city’s workers in their careers.Several members of the newly-elected leadership of the federation (commonly known as Gung Luen) had a meeting with Chui yesterday. Chan, accompanied by his fellow members,

January 18, 2017 | BY admin

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Drugs worth 90,000 patacas seized from 4 locals

A Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday that four locals were caught on Sunday for selling and taking drugs, adding that drugs with an estimated street value of 90,000 patacas were seized.According to the spokesperson, the suspects are aged between 40 and 52. Three of them are men.The spokesperson said the police received a tip-off a week ago that a man was smuggling drugs into Macau from the mainland via the Lotus Flower Bridge border checkpoint in Cotai, and that the man was also

January 17, 2017 | BY admin

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Drug-dealing cases surge 43 pct last year: PJ chief

Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Chau Wai Kuong said yesterday that drug-dealing cases recorded by his criminal investigation force rose to 122 last year from 85 in 2015, an increase of 43.5 percent.Chau revealed the figure during a Chinese New Year gathering and lunch for the media at the PJ headquarters in Zape.According to Chau, the overall number of cases the Judiciary Police recorded last year increased by 9.2 percent to 12,340.Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Chau Wai Kuong addresses

January 17, 2017 | BY admin

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Bangladeshi falsely accuses 3 Filipinos of bomb plot: police

A male suspect from Bangladesh was arrested on Saturday for falsely accusing three Filipinos of planning to plant bombs in Macau, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said during a regular press conference yesterday.The spokesperson said the suspect, surnamed Gaurab, is 45 years old.According to the spokesperson, the police received a number of emails between August and October last year sent by someone who claimed to be from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). PLEASE READ

January 17, 2017 | BY admin

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