BRIEFS | Two casino shuttles collide on Friendship Bridge

An accident that took place on the Friendship Bridge yesterday afternoon involving a collision between two casino shuttle buses caused nine people to be injured, five of whom were sent to hospital. A passenger on one of the shuttles told TDM that the driver of his bus hit the brakes to avoid colliding into another vehicle. His bus was then hit by another shuttle bus from behind. The Public Security Police claimed that the accident did not involve vehicles cutting into another lane. They suspected that it was due to one of the shuttles reducing its speed while the one behind failed to do the same.

PSP detains Vietnamese woman for alleged kidnapping

The Public Security Police has detained a Vietnamese woman after she was suspected of kidnapping two female victims. On Saturday the authorities received a report from the family of one of the victims, who claimed that they were told in a phone call to pay a HKD20,000 ransom. PSP officers then went to Senado Square with the victim’s family and caught the woman when she was trying to take the ransom.The authorities said that the two victims claimed to have already paid the criminals MOP17,000. They were also bitten when detained by the kidnappers. PSP is still looking for the whereabouts of eight Vietnamese men who were also alleged to have been involved in the crime.

More than 2,000 participate in Elders’ Sports Day

The 2014 Macau Elders’ Sports Day took place yesterday at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion. The Sports Development Board (ID) and the Macau Elderly Sports Associations General Union jointly organized the activity. The event aimed to allow elderly residents and their families to exercise together, in order to encourage aged residents to take part in sports. During the Sports Day, there were also performances and lucky draws. Many participants were able to take part in sports activities and receive a simple check-up. ID indicated that more than 2,000 people joined the event.

Tanzanian drug mule detained

The Macau authorities intercepted a Tanzanian man on Saturday who allegedly tried to smuggle up to a kilogram of heroin into Guangzhou by hiding the drug inside his body. Information suggested that when the man arrived at the Macau International Airport, the Macau Customs Service officers asked the man to undergo an x-ray because he was acting suspiciously. Authorities found abnormalities in the x-ray, and the 22-year-old man then confessed that a compatriot had recruited him to smuggle the drugs inside his body in exchange for USD5,000. A spokesperson from the Judiciary Police (PJ) said that the man departed Tanzania for Ethiopia before arriving in Bangkok. He was then in contact with members of a criminal syndicate and was given the drug to swallow in Kuala Lumpur. After receiving the air ticket to Macau, the man was instructed to head to Guangzhou immediately after his arrival in the SAR. PJ has confiscated 72 bags of heroin and handed the man to the Public Prosecution Office.

Casino employees hold new protest against SJM

Employees of local gaming operator SJM again rallied to demand  better compensation and benefits last Saturday. One of the employees told the media that their demands include a 14-month salary, equal salaries for workers in same positions, and the payment of their 2013 bonus. “They concoct items. Bonus is bonus. Why fabricate so many things? They give us the ‘subsidy’, which sounds like they are so good to us,” one SJM employee told TDM. After the protestors arrived at the Grand Lisboa, they asked the senior management of SJM to accept their petition. Nevertheless, they were only able to hand the petition to a representative from the human resources department. The organizer estimates that 700 people had joined the protest, while the police put the number at 470.

Typhoon to approach city tomorrow

Typhoon Kalmaegi, which will enter the 800-kilometer radius of Macau today, is expected to be in close proximity to the city tomorrow. According to a chart on the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) that shows typhoon Kalmaegi’s projected path, the typhoon will head northwest to the south coast of China. Current predictions indicated that the tropical cyclone will not hit Macau directly, but would pass by an area of the South China Sea just over 200 kilometers away from the city. Mainland authorities have already issued a yellow alert for typhoon Kalmaegi, the third most severe warning in its four-tier color-coded warning system.

AULP’s 24th annual meeting this week

The 24th annual meeting of the Association of Portuguese Speaking Universities (Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa, AULP) will be held in Macau from Wednesday to Friday. Over 200 AULP members from around the world will come the city to participate in parallel meetings and academic seminars. The University of Macau (UM), the Macao Polytechnic Institute (IPM), and the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) will jointly host this year’s annual meeting. The opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday at UM’s University Hall. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U, UM Rector Wei Zhao, and AULP Chairman and University of Lúrio Rector Prof Jorge Ferrão will officiate at the ceremony. Following the opening ceremony, AULP members will participate in parallel meetings, including AULP’s General Assembly, AULP Administrative Council meetings, and academic seminars revolving around the theme of this year’s annual meeting, “The Importance of Portuguese and Chinese Language Dissemination for Academic Collaboration in Higher Education and Tourism Promotion”.