The Red Market Library will not be able to open for the remainder of the year due to the damage caused by Typhoon Hato. According to the director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Leung Hio Meng, the library is in deep need of internal maintenance, and of removing damaged books and electronic devices. The Patane Library, the Wong Ieng Kuan Library in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Municipal Park, and the Wong Ieng Kuan Library in Luis de Camões Garden are also currently closed for maintenance work. The IC’s only mobile library is also severely damaged, and its services are currently suspended.
Taipa road holes under repair work
Recently, in some areas in Taipa holes have been opening up along the roads, according to the information released by the Civil Protection Center. The holes are located on the Estr. Flor de Lotus, the side of the Av. de Cotai towards Rotunda do Dique Oeste, Estr. da Ponta da Cabrita, and the side of the Rotunda Da Piscina Olímpica towards Av. dos Jogos da Ásia Oriental. The related public departments have already started to carry out repair works. In addition, the Civil Protection Center reported that 40 street lights across the territory have not yet been repaired after the damage caused by Typhoon Hato, but CEM assured that they are working on their maintenance.
Man sentenced for child abuse
A man was sentenced to five and a half years, yesterday, for abusing his two children. The man, a Portuguese national who resides in Macau, has been preventively arrested since May 2016. The trial sessions took place from April until July of this year. Besides prison time, the man will have to pay compensation of MOP200,000 to each of his children. The man’s defense lawyer, João Miguel Barros, told Lusa news agency that there would be an appeal and criticized the court for considering the children’s testimonies as the sole evidence. At the time of the man’s arrest, the two children, a boy and a girl, were aged nine and seven. They reported the abuse on April 14, together with their mother, who is divorced from the defendant. According to the accusation, the abuse occurred during the weekends between 2011 and the time of the detention.
Trial of Coutinho’s sons starts
Yesterday the Court of First Instance (TJB) started the trial for the two sons of lawmaker Pereira Coutinho. The siblings aged 31 and 27, as of December of last year, were detained under the charge of possession of cannabis. The combined weight of the seized items was one kilogram and the drugs had an expected market value of about MOP500,000. The Judiciary Police disclosed the case to the public on December 22 and they have stated their belief that the brothers were the masterminds of a criminal group that was aiming to sell the drug in night clubs across the territory.
Scholar wins award in int’l communication studies
Professor Wu Mei from the Department of Communication, University of Macau (UM), received the Outstanding Paper Award at the Fifth National Conference on International Communication Theories. According to a statement issued yesterday by the UM, the event organized by the State Council Information Office is China’s highest award in international communication studies. This is the second time Professor Wu has won this award. The award-winning paper is co-authored by Professor Wu and Zhu Wenbo, a UM MA graduate of 2014 and an assistant research fellow at the CICS. It presents innovative approaches in international communication studies. It is also one of the products of a National Social Sciences Fund Major Project that aims to promote innovative studies and the international dissemination of Chinese culture.
