Briefs | Trial on illegal football betting postponed

The trial involving a group of 15 people, including the Malaysian businessman Paul Phua, known for his connections to the gambling underworld, has been postponed to Feb. 12, the Court of First Instance announced yesterday.  The charges against the defendants relate to running and exploiting a scheme of illegal betting during the 2014’s FIFA World Cup that, according to the prosecution, profited about HKD5 billion in just one week of operations. According to the reports at the time of the scheme’s discovery, the group was running the illegal betting scheme from Phua’s luxury Villa at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Office in talks with school over use of Zone A

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, said yesterday that his office is discussing the use of land at the Zone A of the new urban zone with Escola Dos Moradores de Macau. According to Tam, the school is willing to implement the “Blue Sky Project” in the new area. He added that the new urban zone will have a future population of 100,000, and that several schools are interested in building premises in the new zone.  Separately, the secretary said that the SAR government is targeting tourists to stimulate the region’s economy, particularly European tourists. “We have to attract better tourists who come to Macau to appreciate our world heritage, our culture and gastronomy, come to consume, to stimulate the economy,” he said.

Woman killed by falling glass window in HK

A mainland woman was killed in Hong Kong by a falling glass window from Mira Hong Kong Hotel at Tsim Sha Tsui.  The fatal accident took place yesterday morning. The Hong Kong police authority arrested one woman. The arrested woman is a cleaning worker of the hotel. She was opening the window when it suddenly fell. The window fell from the 16th floor of the hotel. The window was 144 cm by 30 cm. The victim is a 24-year-old mainland visitor. Another pedestrian was also hit by the window, however he only sustained light injuries.