Briefs | Cosmetic shops convicted of illegal importing

Three cosmetic shops have been convicted of illegal importing, according to a statement released by the Macau Customs Services and the Health Bureau (SSM). The three shops are located in the northern district. In total, more than 500 medicines without import licenses were seized from three shops, including 21 Western medicines and seven kinds of proprietary Japanese medicines. The main types of medicines seized were Japanese eye drops, acne creams, rheumatism medicines and pain killers, cough drops and vitamins. The three shops involved in the case will be prosecuted, Customs and SSM announced.

Minimum capital for taxi licenses set at MOP5m

The local government has proposed to only issue taxi licenses to companies with capital over MOP5 million. The Third Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL) discussed the government’s proposal concerning the city’s taxi law, with members of the committee expressing different stances towards the proposal related to the minimum capital requirements. Lawmakers declared that the government is firm on corporatizing taxi services. Some of them are worried that taxi service corporatizations will transfer costs to the passengers. The government claimed that the taxi fares can only increase after the government’s approval.

Fifteen locals arrested for phone scams

Fifteen local residents suspected of being involved in phone scams have been arrested, the Judiciary Police (PJ) reported last week. Recently, the PJ received reports from seven people claiming that they had fallen victim to phone scams.  The victims, aged between 18 and 24 years old, reported losses of MOP1.26 million.  Following the reports, the PJ arrested 16 people from 13 local telecommunication shops, 15 of whom are Macau residents who are either managers or ordinary employees of the shops in question. The 16 suspects are aged between 22 and 70 years old, consisting of 10 men and six women.

Half of elderly pension beneficiaries live outside

Between 2015 and 2017, more than 50 percent of the beneficiaries of Macau’s subsidy for Senior Citizens were found to be living outside Macau, according to the Social Affairs Bureau (IAS).  These residents did not report to IAS that they had moved out of the territory.  Furthermore, 7.5 percent of beneficiaries’ deaths were not reported to IAS, and approximately 25 percent of the beneficiaries were unreachable, or their locations could not be identified.  In 2018, IAS spot-checked about 900 old-age pensions. 

Six arrested during ‘Thunder 18’ operation

The Unitary Police Service carried out its “Thunder 18” operation on Friday, arresting six people illegally residing in Macau. Nearly 300 police officers took part in the operation in the casinos and nightclubs of Macau and Cotai, in conjunction with Guangdong and Hong Kong authorities.  A representative from the Unitary Police said that tackling illegal immigration is one of the authorities’ top priorities this year. The “Thunder 18” operation resulted in one man being arrested for illegal immigration, with another three men and two women arrested for overstaying. All were Chinese nationals.

Morais José, Alice Kok appointed to Macau Literary Festival

Journalist Carlos Morais José and artist Alice Kok will be the new faces of the Script Road Macau Literary Festival, the organizers announced in a press statement. Morais José, who is the director of the newspaper Hoje Macau, will be the new program director of the festival, replacing Hélder Beja, one of the founders of the event, who left the position of program director in light of the controversial cancelation of the participation of some of the writers invited to take part in the event. Alice Kok, president of the Arts For All Association, will take the position of executive director of the festival. Ponto Final director and Script Road founder Ricardo Pinto remains as the director of the event.  The upcoming edition of the Script Road is expected to take place next year from March 15 to 24.