Briefs | Property developer allegedly sues New Macau

Several New Macau Association (ANM) members have been summoned by the Judiciary Police, allegedly for assisting an investigation into a libel lawsuit, according to a post on the association’s Facebook page last Saturday. Last September, the property developer Companhia de Construção e Investimento Ho Chun Kei Limitada, who was involved in the urban development dispute in northern Taipa, took legal action against Jason Chao, the former president of the group, and Bill Chou, an outspoken scholar and ANM member, for raising groundless accusations about the property company. According to the association, the company also requested civil claims amounting to one million patacas in the case, which was what the current president of the association Sulu Sou called a deeply premeditated amount, as it was even higher than the total assets of the group. The ANM post stressed that the association would handle land disputes with caution in future, as the issues might lead to clashes with financially powerful property developers. However, ANM also claimed that the libel lawsuit would not deter the association from “pursuing justice.”

False ceiling collapse injures two workers

The sudden collapse of a false ceiling at the Studio City construction site on the Cotai Strip has left two workers wounded, with two others trapped under the rubble. The accident happened at around 3 p.m. when the 30 by 10 meter ceiling collapsed from a height of around 5 meters to the ground. Ambulances were quick to arrive on site and attend to the injured, who sustained wounds to the arm and the waist. The two construction workers still stranded under the rubble were reported to be unharmed.