The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, today said crime statistics recorded in the first nine months of 2018 showed Macao to be a secure and safe city.
The number of suspected crime cases reported in Macao, up to the end of September 2018, saw a 1.8 percent drop year-on-year, to 10,559 cases. Instances of the most serious forms of crime – kidnap, murder and grievous assault – continued to be either non-existent, or extremely low in number.
Meanwhile, the number of violent crimes reported in the period fell by 23.9 percent from the same period last year, to 452 instances.
Speaking at a press conference disclosing the crime figures and the police’s enforcement statistics, the Secretary said the police would remain vigilant regarding any perceived upward trend in any type of crime, and would update their crime-fighting and investigating strategies when deemed necessary.
The police would step up – via various channels – promotion of awareness among the community regarding the latest forms of crime, including frauds. Mr Wong also called for closer police-media cooperation in order to achieve that aim.
In the first nine months of 2018, a total of 72 cases allegedly involving family violence was reported to the police. Following police investigations, only one from the aggregate number was categorised as violence by one domestic partner upon another.
There were additionally two cases of murder, both suspected to be linked to family-related issues.
Mr Wong pointed out that in cases of violence in a family setting, a police investigation had to determine not only if there were any elements constituting an offence, but also whether the case involved a possible ‘public crime’, or if it should be categorised as a crime of assault.
In the nine-month period reported today, there were 871 cases involving suspected scams, representing a rise of 24.1 percent from 702 cases in the corresponding period of 2017.
In view of the latest trend involving telephone scams, the police had set up an anti-fraud hotline and a cooperation mechanism with the Guangdong authorities. Mr Wong urged members of the public to stay alert when receiving calls from unfamiliar numbers.
According to the Secretary, the number of reported burglaries registered a slight drop – of 2.2 percent – to 2,083, with 46 cases fewer than the same period in 2017.
Mr Wong said overall, gaming-related crimes showed a slight increase of 1.1 percent, to 1,338 cases. Cases of false imprisonment linked to usury – illegal lending of money – recorded a drop of 34.7 percent year-on-year, to 218 cases. Gaming-related usury went up 24.2 percent, to 390 cases.
The security authorities had not found evidence that the city’s gaming industry had had any negative influence on community security, said Mr Wong. The police were nonetheless paying close attention to the development of the sector and adjusting their enforcement strategies as necessary.
In today’s press conference, Mr Wong also detailed the security authorities’ involvement in “Thunderbolt 18”, a joint operation carried out by police authorities of Guangdong, of Hong Kong and of Macao in a bid to minimise cross-boundary criminal syndicates.
Mr Wong said more than 15,000 members of Macao’s police services joined the “Thunderbolt 18” operation that took place between 15 May and 15 August this year.
During the three-month-long operation, some 30,000 persons had been investigated, and cases involving 1,715 people were transferred to the judiciary in Macao.
As a result of the operation, the police had identified a total of 223 cases of usury with 502 persons involved. There were more than 100 people engaged in a single suspected case of usury. That was the largest single group of suspected persons apprehended by the police since the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
Mr Wong added the security authorities would continue to stay in close contact to –and exchange intelligence with – their counterparts in Guangdong and in Hong Kong, in order to maintain Macao’s security.