Briefs: MGTO launches public consultation on projection show

The Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) is consulting the public regarding the video projection show “Image – Macau.” The Office aims to collect the opinions of residents, shop-owners and tourists, and use them as a reference for when it considers holding further similar events in the future.  Between August 13 and September 20, MGTO will both conduct street questionnaire interviews and launch an online questionnaire. The former will be carried out near St Lazarus’ Church and Cheng Peng Theater; the latter will take place between August 20 and September 20. Residents and visitors will be able to log into the MGTO website to find the online questionnaire.  After compiling all data from the survey, MGTO will draft a report, which will serve as a reference for relevant policies in the future. The Office will also decide whether to hold the video projection show in other locations, depending on the results of the consultation.

Couple smuggle
drugs in bra

The Public Security Police (PSP) has detained a couple who are alleged to have smuggled illegal substances into Macau and sold them in Nape.  Among the detained is a 44-year-old unemployed woman who holds a criminal record listing 20 offences. The PSP suspects that the woman started dealing drugs in May this year. The authorities caught her at Seac Pai Van. The woman admitted that she had bought the drugs in the mainland and smuggled them into Macau through various methods, including hiding them in a tailored bra.  Officers found on her, and in her social housing apartment, a combined total of just over 100 grams of methamphetamine, 3.7 grams of maku, and 37 drug-filled capsules.  The PSP also found a man in the social housing unit in possession of two packs of methamphetamine. The total value of drugs seized in the operation was estimated to be MOP150,000.  PSP have handed the pair to the Public Prosecution Office.

HK drug dealer busted

The Public Prosecution Office (MP) has finished its preliminary investigation into a drug case and detained a Hong Kong man.  Information shows that the police received a report claiming that a jobless man was selling illegal drugs near Travessa dos Colonos. After an investigation, the police identified the 23-year-old Hong Kong man and placed him under surveillance.  On August 4, officers intercepted the man outside a hotel on Rua de Xangai; they found on him, and at his apartment, a total of 90 grams of cocaine as well as some drug dealing tools. The man claimed that he had met two other men in a nightclub in Hong Kong and arranged to come to Macau and sell drugs to clubgoers. It is alleged that he had already received HKD40,000 for his work. The prosecutor found that evidence strongly indicated that the man was involved in drug dealing, and therefore advised the judge to remand the suspect. The police will continue to investigate the case.

Family Reunion Federation meets gov’t representatives

The Family Reunion Federation met with government representatives yesterday to discuss a solution that would allow them to reunite with their mainland-born adult children.  The government has promised it will set up a task group to assist parents in solving the problem. The group will then report back to the Chief Executive.  The Family Reunion Federation claims that there are still 2,300 children residing in the mainland who cannot come to Macau and reunite with their parents, since the MSAR refuses to grant them residency permits.