Briefs | Service outsourcing continues to be focus of Ho trial

The trial of the city’s former top prosecutor, Ho Chio Meng, continued yesterday at Macau’s Court of Final Appeal. Several witnesses were called to provide their testimonies. One of them, Chan Hoi In, is currently a technical assistant at the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to her testimony, Chan previously made procurement proposals for the MP. She said that her former head, Chan Ka Fai, would give price offers for services provided by certain companies to her directly. She further said that the office would grant contracts to some companies without considering other alternatives. When comparing the prices of three different companies, the witness Chan noticed that the three companies were using identical phone and fax numbers. Despite this, Chan Ka Fai would still instruct her to make proposals as per usual.

Okada Manila grand opening delayed

The Okada Manila resort in the Philippines has postponed the date of its grand opening to the end of March, its operator has informed in a statement. The postponement sees the opening date pushed back by more than a month from its previous date of February 17. The USD2.4 billion integrated resort held a soft opening on December 21 and officially started gaming operations on December 30. “Since that time the construction focus has been on the VIP casino floors, restaurants, world-class foundations and other facilities in preparation for the grand opening,” explained Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment in the statement.

SCDT to do research on human resources demand

The Talents Development Committee (SCDT) will complete a research project this year related to human resources demand in Macau’s finance and construction industries, according to a statement released by SCDT on Tuesday. The committee has invited a team consisting of people from several of the city’s universities to conduct the research. The team will survey Macau’s six business associations related to construction as well as associations of construction workers. The results are expected to be published this year.

Wedding designer arrested for hotel fraud

A wedding designer, reported to have left the territory after obtaining around MOP7 million through fraudulent schemes, was arrested earlier this week. The suspect, surnamed Chan, is a local woman aged 34. On Monday, the Judiciary Police said that 28 people reported that they had been swindled by a wedding designer who claimed to be able to get them discounts for hotel bouquets. Chan explained that she had deceived the victims because she needed the money to cover expenses necessary for running her company. She said that she planned to use her parents’ properties as mortgage repay for the people who she cheated.

Police condemns online PSP survey

The Public Security Police Force (PSP) is paying close attention to an online survey related to the department. According to the PSP, the survey spread via an online chatting application, and the department did not authorize nor request for any party to conduct such a survey. The PSP expressed its unhappiness with the events and further said that the survey is irresponsible and highly inaccurate, adding that it could potentially damage the image and dignity of the PSP staff as the survey has already been completed by unreliable parties. The police called for the public to be vigilant in protecting their privacy.