Briefs | Abandoned baby’s mother arrested

The mother of an abandoned baby, reported by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Monday, has been found and arrested, the PJ reported yesterday. The abandoned baby is a 10-month-old boy whose father is a 60-year-old local resident. The arrested mother is a 27-year-old Hong Kong resident. The suspect said that she had a quarrel with the father concerning the boy’s foster care, upon which she, on May 26, took the baby from the house of the father’s sister, and later abandoned the infant.

GDP up by 9 percent in first quarter

Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.2 percent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of 2018, higher than the 8 percent rise in the previous quarter. Economic growth in the first quarter was mainly driven by exports of services and private consumption. According to information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), external demand expanded further, which pushed total exports of services up by 16 percent year-on-year. Domestic demand recovered, with private consumption expenditure and government final consumption expenditure rising by 4.8 percent and 2.2 percent respectively year-on-year. Private consumption was up by 4.8 percent year-on-year, higher than the 2.7 percent rise in the previous quarter. Government final consumption expenditure grew at a slower rate of 2.2 percent year-on-year, down from the 5.1 percent increase in the previous quarter, with compensation of employees and net purchases of goods and services rising by 2.5 percent and 1.6 percent respectively. According to DSEC, imports of goods rose 7 percent year-on-year, while imports of services increased by 34.2 percent year-on-year.

381 new tuberculosis cases registered in 2017

In 2017, the Health Bureau (SSM) registered 381 new cases of tuberculosis, with 47 cases concerning non-local residents, the SSM revealed in a statement. The incidence rate is of 58.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. There have been 18 fatal cases recorded; the mortality rate is 2.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Among the fatal cases, 12 were people aged 65 years old or over, and six were under 65 years old, with the youngest person aged 42 years old. SSM noted that, similarly to other regions in Asia, tuberculosis is the main factor affecting the health and life of residents.