Briefs | Resident deposits decrease 0.1 pct

Resident deposits have decreased by 0.1 percent from a month earlier in August to MOP479.1 billion, of which MOP deposits and HKD deposits increased by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent respectively, whereas foreign currency deposits dropped by 2.7 percent.  Statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Macau show that non-resident deposits rose 2.8 percent to MOP232.2 billion. Total deposits within the banking sector grew from 0.9 percent a month earlier to MOP801.8 billion. The shares of MOP and HKD in total deposits were 18.5 percent and 41.5 percent respectively. Currency in circulation grew by 1.9 percent, whereas demand deposits dropped 2.3 percent. Domestic loans to the private sector increased 1.6 percent from a month ago to MOP322.7 billion

PSP catches teenage arsonist at Rua da Emenda

Two teenagers were brought back to a Public Security Police (PSP) station after a suspected arson case took place in the early hours of yesterday. Information from the police suggests that an off-duty PSP officer was walking on the Rua da Emenda at around 3 a.m. yesterday when he saw that a vendor booth was on fire. He immediately followed and intercepted two teenagers who were fleeing towards Rua da Barca. After the two boys were brought back to the station, one of them admitted to the officers that he set an object around the booth on fire “for fun”. The other teenager was trying to dissuade him, but to no avail. The police have listed the incident as an arson case.

Local woman under arrest for drug trafficking

A local woman surnamed Chu is under preventive arrest for being involved in a drug trafficking operation. Aged 44, the woman was caught by police near the Seac Pai Van public housing complex with 107 grams of ‘ice’. Chu’s boyfriend, a Filipino man aged 46, was found at their home with 13 grams of the narcotic. He stated that the drugs were for his own use. Chu said she has been using drugs for about a year, and that since May she had been buying drugs in Zhuhai to sell in Macau. The prosecutor found enough evidence of a drug trafficking crime, and suggested her preventive arrest. The Filipino man was ordered to report regularly to authorities. The case has been referred back to police authorities for further investigation.