Cross-region pact will help fight smuggling: customs chief

Macau Customs Service Director-General Alex Vong Iao Lek said yesterday that a cross-region co-operation agreement with the mainland’s customs administration would help prevent and combat smuggling. A signing ceremony was held at Government Headquarters yesterday, where General Administration of Customs Minister Yu Guangzhou and Vong signed the co-operation pact. The also signed a memorandum of co-operation to simplify procedures for tax-free exports.Speaking to reporters on the

May 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Contractor should fix Lago car park cracks: group

The government should tell the contractor of the Lago public housing estate in Taipa to repair the cracks that have recently appeared in the building’s underground car park, Cheong Weng Fat, the vice-chairman of local activist group People Power, said yesterday. Speaking to reporters after submitting a petition, addressed to Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario, to an official outside Government Headquarters, Cheong said the government should look into whether

May 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Property management bill set for final vote

Lawmaker-cum-unionist Kwan Tsui Hang said yesterday that a government-initiated bill on regulating property management companies working for residential buildings should be ready for submission for its final vote in a plenary session in a month’s time.The legislature’s 1st Standing Committee held a closed-door meeting with government officials including Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario about the bill yesterday. Speaking to reporters after the two-hour

May 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Tertiary education bill to scrap higher diploma courses

Lawmaker Andrew Chan Chak Mo said yesterday a government-drafted tertiary education bill proposes that higher diploma courses will no longer be taught in local tertiary education institutions.The legislature’s 2nd Standing Committee, which is reviewing the bill, held a closed-door meeting at the Legislative Assembly (AL) with government officials yesterday. The outline of the bill was passed in February last year.Lawmaker Andrew Chan Chak Mo speaks to reporters after yesterday’s

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Dogs can take obedience tests for muzzle exemption: bill

The government-initiated animal protection bill’s latest version proposes that dogs weighing 23 kilogrammes or more would be exempted from the requirement of wearing a muzzle in public areas if they have passed an obedience test at the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Jose Fonseca Tavares, who heads the bureau, said yesterday. The legislature’s 1st Standing Committee met yesterday to discuss the bill with representatives from five groups and senior officials including

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Rats cause blackout: CEM

A power cut early yesterday morning in Iao Ho was possibly due to rats chewing through a control circuit at a customer substation, Bill Chan Hon Keong, a senior manager of power utility CEM, said yesterday.Chan described the case as a “very rare” incident and vowed that CEM would continue to look into the matter and continue to improve the relevant equipment.Chan, who heads the utility’s Network Operators and Maintenance Department, made the remarks after yesterday’s meeting of the CEM

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Police bust 4 Filipinos for drug-related crimes

The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced yesterday the arrests of three men and a woman from the Philippines suspected of selling and taking drugs.A spokesperson said during a regular press briefing that the four unemployed suspects comprise a 54-year-old man surnamed Aviles, a 45-year-old woman surnamed Basco, a 41-year-old man surnamed Montareal and a 31-year-old man surnamed Gecale.Aviles and Gecele hold local resident ID cards while Basco and Montareal are Philippine passport holders, said the

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Mainlander caught for sexual intercourse with 14-year-old girl

The Judiciary Police (PJ) announced yesterday the arrest of a 28-year-old man from the mainland for alleged sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.A PJ spokesperson revealed details of the crime during a regular press briefing.The jobless suspect, surnamed Zhang, was arrested on Friday at the Barrier Gate checkpoint when he was about to leave the city, a PJ spokesperson said, adding that the girl and her father went to the PJ headquarters to report the case on May 6.This handout photo

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Inflation slows to 3.02 pct in April

Macau’s composite consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.02 percent year-on-year last month, down by 0.29 percentage points from the 3.31 percent growth in March, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday. The bureau attributed the increase mainly to higher rentals for parking spaces and the rising cost of eating out, as well as higher prices of cars and tobacco. Last month also saw higher prices of women’s summer clothing and footwear, as well as higher prices of

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Scholar praises Macau for training Chinese language teachers

Speaking about the Macau Polytechnic Institute’s (IPM) new bachelor’s programme in International Chinese Language Education, Lu Jianming, a professor at Peking University’s (PKU) Department of Chinese Language and Literature, said yesterday the course was an example of the local government’s efforts in promoting Chinese language education.The professor spoke to reporters after giving a public lecture at the institute in Zape. The 81-year-old scholar said he believed that some of the

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers propose 3-year lease for commercial units

Lawmaker-cum-banker Cheang Chi Keong said yesterday that the initiators of a rent-control bill had proposed a minimum three-year lease term for commercial units.The proposal is part of the bill initiated by nine of the legislature’s 33 lawmakers. The legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee yesterday held a closed-door meeting with government officials and some of the lawmakers who initiated the bill. Cheang briefed reporters on the meeting in the legislative chamber afterwards.Lawmaker

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Shrek the Musical will be like a ‘rock concert’

For those who are going to see the famous big green ogre singing and dancing in “Shrek the Musical” this summer, expect it to be like a rock concert.The Broadway musical adaption of the Oscar-winning animated film “Shrek” will be playing at The Venetian Theatre in Cotai for 21 performances from July 22 to August 7.Shrek and Lord Farquaad gave a mini performance during a media event at the Venetian yesterday.Shrek (left) and Lord Farquaad pose for a photo during a media event at the

May 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Local man takes 80,000 upskirt photos: police

A 65-year-old local man was arrested on Friday for his collection of about 80,000 upskirt photos which he took over the course of a year, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Lei Kai Sang said yesterday.Lei announced the case during a regular press briefing.Lei said a 17-year-old girl called the police on Friday, alleging that the suspect was looking for women on a footbridge in Areia Preta to take upskirt photos of. The teenager told police that she was one of his victims.This handout photo

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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Govt vows to tackle cartels

Economic Services Bureau (DSE) Director Tai Kin Ip has promised that the government will study how to tackle the possible appearance of cartels by referencing the relevant experiences of neighbouring regions.Tai made the pledge in a reply to a written interpellation submitted by lawmaker-cum-businessman Chan Meng Kam in February. A copy of the reply was sent to the media yesterday.Chan, widely seen as the de facto leader of the city’s sizeable Fujianese community, said in his interpellation

May 24, 2016 | BY admin

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