Briefs | Lau Si Io to join Science and Technology Fund

Former Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io will be joining the Science and Technology Development Fund’s board of trustees, the government announced yesterday through its Official Gazette (BO). Lau Si Io had told reporters in Beijing in December that he would be working within his area of expertise, which is public works, even though he’s currently heading the Macau Science Center.  Lau was appointed secretary in 2007, replacing disgraced Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long, who had been arrested over alleged corruption and money laundering.  Mr Lau has previously served as president of the Administration Council of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.

Merchant supplies counterfeit materials to casino site

An electronics store has provided counterfeit electrical materials to a large-scale casino resort construction site in Cotai, the Macau Customs Service revealed.  The counterfeit materials were to be used on the top of elevators as the bridges and trays that store electric wires. According to the authorities, the quality of such materials needs to be strictly controlled, otherwise they might scratch and damage the wires, causing a short circuit or even a fire. The store is located in the Northern District and owned by a Hong Kong resident. Customs authorities seized a total of 1,281 counterfeit goods including cable troughs and cable trays. If genuine, the goods would be valued at over MOP170,000. The 66 year-old owner has been charged and transferred to the Public Prosecution Office, with three more suspects also arrested during the operation.

Teen girl allegedly involved in migration scam

The Judiciary Police (PJ) has officially charged a 17-year-old female with aggravated fraud after she was alleged to have defrauded two people out of a total of MOP400,000, claiming she could provide immigration services to them. The authorities have revealed that both of the victims were locals, who told the PJ that they were helping their friends to migrate to Hong Kong and Macau through investment. It is alleged that the suspect met her victims on the mobile application WeChat and claimed that she could help them obtain residency in the two SARs. The two victims then asked the girl about the fees and was told that they had to first pay MOP200,000 individually. However, the suspect was said to be stalling after receiving the money, which made the victims suspicious. Eventually, the two decided to approach the PJ on January 22.