BRIEFS | 110 LRT carriages to be kept at Japanese manufacturer

Authorities have revealed that a total of 110 carriages which were previously ordered for the current construction of the light railway transit (LRT) will have to remain at the headquarters of the Japanese manufacturer for longer before they are installed in Macau. The government failed to disclose if the storage would lead to any additional charge, as they also demanded further maintenance for the carriages. A quality inspection  of them would be carried out upon their eventual arrival in Macau, said the Transportation Infrastructure Office. Currently the authorities are locked in a dispute with the project’s contractors and are seeking new partners.

PSP to launch emergency report system via text message

The Public Security Police (PSP) is soon to launch an emergency report system for people with hearing impairment and language disabilities. The system – allowing people to seek help from the police via text message – has entered the testing stage after it began its development in the beginning of last year. According to the PSP, citizens with hearing impairment and language disabilities will be able to seek help or report information to a dedicated hotline through text messaging services monitored by local telecom operators; the police officer that receives the report will communicate with the informants via the system, and then follow the general procedure to dispatch police officers to handle the emergency.

Studentships rise fivefold since handover

The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ)’s subsidies granted to tertiary education students have risen fivefold since the city’s handover. According to the bureau director, Leong Lai, during the past academic year, the DSEJ has granted a total of MOP300 million to 6,571 students through its Student Welfare Fund, a significant contrast when compared to 1999, where the sum was MOP59 million but the number of recipients was 3,000. Ms Leong said the scheme – which includes scholarships, subsidies and student loans – helped about 3,000 recipients realize their dreams to study outside Macau last year. In addition, the DSEJ expressed its satisfaction with the loan repayment situation.