Briefs | CAEAL to launch campaigns on voting

The Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly election (CAEAL) gathered again yesterday to discuss electoral awareness and how to promote the importance of voting, the Government Information Bureau said in a statement. After the meeting, CAEAL president Tong Hio Fong told the media that the Commission would launch a series of campaigns via videos available on the internet and pamphlets to disseminate information on the elections. Tong added that the promotional material is intended to encourage audiences to exercise their right to vote and to inform them of the civic duty that this act constitutes. Tong stressed that the campaigns will explain the right way to vote and what issues to consider on election day, as well as ways to avoid illegal propaganda.

DICJ issues warning about fake lottery websites 

The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said in a press statement yesterday that a website is running a fraudulent lottery business and claiming that the proceeds will go to charity. The DICJ said the government has never run, nor authorized any other person, company or institution to run, any online lottery business or related activities. The DICJ advised citizens to be aware of such scams.

Nine injured in bridge bus collision

Two buses collided head-on about 11:15 p.m. last night on the Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, leaving at least nine people injured according to information released by the Public Security Police Force. At least one of the buses had the glass pane of its windshield cracked by the incident. Some unconfirmed reports suggest that a taxi may have been involved in the incident as well. As of last night, the police confirmed that at least nine were injured in the collision.

José Manuel Rodrigues appointed to lead Basic Television Channels

Macanese lawyer José Manuel Rodrigues has been appointed to head Macau Basic Television Channels Limited. The government-owned company had been previously created to ensure the transmission of a basic channel television package in Macau, replacing so-called public antenna companies. Rodrigues’s appointment was published yesterday in the Official Gazette.

Ho Chio Meng’s Trial on ‘standby’

The trial of former public prosecutor general, Ho Chio Meng – which was expected to resume yesterday to hear another witness living in mainland China – was finally cancelled after a “standby period,” a court clerk from the Court of Final Appeal (TUI) told the media. The TUI clerk said the cancelation was due to the absence of the witness and added that a similar situation will likely occur at the next scheduled session on Friday.  This week’s trial sessions were not expected to take place, as the trial was supposed to be on hold until March 29 in order to give Ho’s new legal team – led by Oriana Pun – enough time to familiarize themselves with the case.  Nevertheless, the TUI decided to proceed with this week’s three sessions as originally planned. This was in order to avoid conflict with the witnesses’ schedules, as they had already been notified to be present in court on the previously arranged dates.