Govt plans to upgrade its think tank to bureau level

The government plans to upgrade its Policy Research Office (GEP) to a bureau-level permanent entity, its director Lao Pun Lap said yesterday.Lao made the remarks in his reply to an oral interpellation by lawmaker-cum-gaming executive Angela Leong On Kei during a plenary session of the legislature.In her interpellation, Leong asked whether the local government would consider establishing a specific entity for coordinating the various policies and measures by different official entities

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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No complaints about sacked casino staff ‘blacklists’ since 2016: labour chief

Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong said yesterday that the government has not received any complaints from casino workers since 2016 concerning the alleged existence of “blacklists” of sacked casino employees created by city’s six gaming operators.Wong made the remarks when replying to an oral interpellation by lawmaker-cum-unionist Leong Sun Iok during a plenary session of the legislature.In his interpellation, Leong said that casino employees suspect that

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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Student loses HK$85,000 in phone scam: police

A female student fell victim to a phone scam earlier this month, losing a total of HK$85,000, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a regular press conference yesterday.Ho noted that the victim is a 22-year-old local woman, whose surnamed was not revealed.According to Ho, on Saturday morning the victim received a phone call from a Putonghua-speaking woman who claimed to be a delivery company staff member. In the phone call, the woman informed the victim that her parcel, which

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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Public security is ‘stable & fine’: police chief

Unitary Police Service (SPU) Commissioner-General Ma Io Kun reassured the public yesterday that Macau’s public security situation is “stable and fine”.Ma made the remarks while speaking to reporters outside The Plaza Restaurant in Zape after attending a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Alliance for Common People Building Up Macau (API).Ma’s remarks came after the recent five-day operation to combat unlicensed money-changing and other illegal activities

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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Man steals bag from napping lorry driver: police

A local man has been caught for stealing a bag from a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottle delivery lorry in Fai Chi Kei, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Wong Wai Chon said during a regular press conference yesterday.Wong identified the suspect as Cheong, an unemployed man in his forties, who has been involved in previous theft cases.According to Wong, on Tuesday afternoon an LPG bottle delivery man parked his vehicle in Rua do General Ivens Ferraz and fell asleep in the cab. He left the

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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No timetable for Cotai hospital project completion: govt

Health Bureau (SSM) Acting Director Cheang Seng Ip said yesterday that the government still does not have a timetable as to when the public hospital project in Cotai, officially known as Cotai Health Complex, will be completed, nor does it have a total budget for the project.He added that the government can only come up with a timetable for the completion of the whole project after the completion of the bidding process for the construction of the various buildings of the project.Cheang made the

May 10, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt consults public on new immigration rules

The government yesterday launched a one-month public consultation on the drafting of a new immigration, stay and residency bill with the aim of enabling more effective law enforcement for when immigration officers carry out their work and with the aim of tackling the various irregularities resulting from illegal immigration.The government says that the new law will clearly regulate the collection of non-locals’ biometric data at immigration counters, with the aim of combating illegal

May 9, 2018 | BY admin

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Woman cheats man out of 130,000 yuan: police

A woman from the mainland was arrested on Monday for stealing a male mainlander’s smartphone and fraudulently obtaining cash of around 130,000 yuan (165,000 patacas) from his account on an online payment platform, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a special press conference in Zape yesterday.Ho identified the suspect as a 30-year-old surnamed Yang. He noted that the victim is a man in his sixties who regularly visits Macau to gamble in casinos and is renting a flat in

May 9, 2018 | BY admin

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Customs seizes fake designer goods worth 3.65 million patacas

Local customs officers seized more than 480 fake designer goods in Macau earlier this month, amounting to an estimated market value of over 3.65 million patacas, the Macau Customs Service announced during a special press conference yesterday.According to the Customs Service, the bogus goods were seized from three shops in the city centre and Zape on Thursday and Sunday. Customs officers arrested five local men and women, aged between 45 and 65.The confiscated merchandise includes counterfeit

May 9, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt could’ve done better on waste recycling: councillors

Deputy Convener of the Taipa and Coloane Community Service Consultative Council Si Nei Na said yesterday that she and her fellow council members think the local government could have done better on reducing and recycling the city’s rubbish.Si made the remarks yesterday during a post-meeting press briefing at the Islands District Public Services Centre in Taipa.Officials of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) and Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) attended yesterday’s meeting

May 9, 2018 | BY admin

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Privacy watchdog launches 217 probes last year

The Personal Data Protection Office (GPDP) last year launched 217 investigations into the collection and handling of such data, down 3.1 percent year-on-year, GPDP Director Yang Chongwei said yesterday.Yang, his deputy Iao Hin Chit, and three GPDP officials co-hosted a press conference on the city’s privacy statistics and their office’s work and investigations during 2017 at their office in China Plaza.According to Yang, of the total number of investigations last year, 141 involved private

May 9, 2018 | BY admin

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Woman falls victim to social networking trap: police

A local woman has fallen victim to a social networking trap, losing a total of HK$393,000 in cash between February and April, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said during a routine press conference in Zape yesterday.According to Ho, the victim is a widow in her fifties, who works as a valet. He didn’t reveal the victim’s surname.Ho said the victim met a male named Steve online on a social networking platform. Later on they became online friends. The man told her that he would

May 8, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt to consult public on phone tapping bill: Wong

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said yesterday that the government expects to launch a public consultation in July or August on the drafting of a bill regulating the tapping of telephones during police investigations into criminal cases.Wong made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony for 11 senior firefighters who each were awarded a bachelor’s degree for fire safety engineering by the Macau Public Security Forces Academy. The ceremony took

May 8, 2018 | BY admin

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Govt raises non-locals’ childbirth fees by 800 pct from June

The Health Bureau (SSM) announced yesterday that it will raise the fees by 800 percent, or ninefold, for its childbirth services at the public Conde de Sao Januario Hospital Centre, starting from June 1, for non-local women whose husbands are also non-locals.The bureau said that the drastic fee hike aimed to reduce the number of non-local women using the public hospital’s childbirth services, in order to ensure a better service for their local counterparts.According to the bureau, low-income

May 8, 2018 | BY admin

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