Lawmakers propose 29.25 pct as top rent increase

Lawmaker-cum-banker Cheang Chi Keong said yesterday that a committee meeting reached an agreement that a rent control bill initiated by nine lawmakers should include a specific rent adjustment control measure.According to Cheang, the initiators of the bill also proposed that the bill should include a special clause limiting the maximum legally allowed rent increase to 29.25 percent.The outline of the bill was passed by the legislature in November. The legislature’s 3rd Standing Committee,

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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EU says local governance needs to be ‘modernised’

The 28-nation European Union (EU) says in its annual report about Macau that “the functioning of the Macau government needs to be modernised and made more efficient.”The European Commission also says in its Annual Report 2015 that “the EU encourages the Macau authorities to consider ways to promote greater public involvement in the election of the chief executive, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of the position and contributing to good governance.”The report was released in Brussels on

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Taipa & Coloane see rapid rise in water usage: utility

Macao Water Executive Director Nacky Kuan Sio Peng said yesterday that in the face of the rapid development in Taipa and Coloane, the two islands had seen a double digit percentage increase in the use of water over the first three months of the year.Kuan made the remarks on the sidelines of a Customers Liaison Group meeting with government officials at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. According to Kuan, the city’s highest water demand is concentrated on the two islands, with an average daily

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Police bust 17 mainlanders for loansharking

The Judiciary Police (PJ) took 17 male mainlanders, aged between 23 and 40, from streets near Grand Lisboa to a police station on Monday, a PJ spokesperson said yesterday, adding that they were suspected of working for a loansharking ring. The spokesperson made the announcement during a regular press briefing at the PJ headquarters in Zape. When they were patrolling the area that day, officers from the PJ Organised Crime Division noticed the 17 men, who appeared to be asking

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Group urges graft busters to probe businessman

Activists of the grassroots New Macau Association (NMA) yesterday urged the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) to investigate whether San Kin Ip Group, headed by local businessman Ng Lap Seng, who has been accused by the US authorities of bribing United Nation officials, has been involved in any illegal activities.NMA President Scott Chiang Meng Hin and Vice President Jason Chao Teng Hei yesterday handed a petition to a CCAC official in the lobby of the Dynasty Plaza Building where the CCAC

April 27, 2016 | BY admin

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Customs nab cop for abetting illegal immigration

The Macau Customs Service said in a statement yesterday that they arrested a suspended Public Security Police (PSP) officer last week for abetting illegal immigration. The statement said that while patrolling along the southern coastline of Coloane early Thursday morning, customs officers spotted three people – two men and a woman – acting suspiciously while getting into a taxi. The officers approached the trio and asked for their ID cards.The statement said while the officers were

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Federation vows to push for trade union law

The Federation of Macau Trade Unions will continue pushing for a trade union law, Lei Chan U, who heads the group’s research and information division, said yesterday.The federation, commonly known as Gung Luen, is the city’s largest trade union organisation.Lei made the pledge during a press conference at the federation’s headquarters in Patane.Macau Federation of Trade Unions Vice President Lei Chan U talks during yesterday’s press conference at the group’s headquarters in Patane.

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Meat traders reject pork overcharging claims

Macau Iong Hap Tong Fresh Meat Traders Association Chairman Che Su Peng said yesterday that local pork hawkers were not overcharging for their products as claimed by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On during a Q&A session in the legislature on Friday.Che made the rebuttal during a press conference at Ka Nin Wa Restaurant in Rua de Pedro Coutinho.Addressing the plenary session at the legislature, Chui said that early this year, both import and wholesale prices of pork in Macau were lower

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Lawmakers find asset freeze bill ‘difficult to understand’

Members of the legislature’s 1st Standing Committee have found the government-drafted bill on the freezing of assets related to terrorism difficult to understand, lawmaker-cum-unionist Kwan Tsui Hang, who chairs the committee, said yesterday. Kwan, a vice chairwoman of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (commonly known as Gung Luen), made the remarks after chairing a committee meeting about the bill.“The committee only discussed a few things during the meeting, which lasted over two

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Group urges govt to support more students

Workers’ Self-Help Union Chairman Lei Kit Meng said yesterday there should be no cap on the number of local students receiving special financial assistance from the government, urging the government to review the matter as soon as possible.Lei, a veteran racing driver, made the appeal after submitting a petition to an official outside Government Headquarters yesterday.The group says in the petition addressed to Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng that the government

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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More taxi licences up for sale amid worries over rule changes: group

There have recently been more owners of taxi operation licences trying to sell them, triggered for various reasons including their worries over the government’s proposed changes to Macau’s taxi regulation, Commercial Vehicles’ Owners Association President Ben Leng Sai Vai said yesterday.After submitting a petition to an official outside Government Headquarters, Leng said that most of the 50 or so taxi operation licence owners who joined him there were “deeply worried” about some of

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Employer stages burglary to steal from maid: police

The police have arrested a local woman for staging a burglary in order to steal from her maid, a Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesperson said yesterday.Speaking during a regular press briefing, the spokesperson said the suspect went to the police on Friday, alleging that when she woke up in the morning her handbag was missing from the living room where she had left it the night before, and her maid’s wallet was also missing.According to the spokesperson, the suspect also told police that she later

April 26, 2016 | BY admin

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Lack of govt accountability leads to graft: scholar

Macau Civic Power (ECM) Chairwoman Agnes Lam Iok Fong said yesterday that the lack of an accountability system for senior officials was one of the reasons why so many cases of alleged collusion between businesspeople and officials were mentioned in the 2015 report by the city’s graft buster CCAC. Lam, who teaches media studies at the public University of Macau (UM), made the remarks on the sidelines of a round-table discussion at the group’s office in Rua Nova a Guia.The group

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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Overnight visitors rise 14 pct in March

Macau’s visitor arrivals rose by 4.2 percent year-on-year to 2.36 million, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) has announced. While overnight visitors increased by 14.1 percent to 1.17 million, same-day visitors dropped by 3.9 percent to 1.19 million. Overnight visitors accounted for 49.6 percent of all visitor arrivals last month. Most overnight visitors were from the mainland (722,700), Hong Kong (281,700), Taiwan (35,000), and South Korea (22.8 percent). Please read the

April 25, 2016 | BY admin

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