Briefs | Water bill to increase by 5.9pct yearly

The government has signed an agreement with the water supply company in order to allow the latter to increase the water bill by 5.9 percent, on average, per year. In 2017, the water fare will increase by MOP0.33 per degree to MOP5.45 per degree, and it will grow another MOP0.32 per degree next year. In 2019, the fare will increase to MOP0.31, by which time the water fare will be MOP6.08 per degree. Previously, the water supply company had suggested an average increase of 6.2 percent to the water fare.

Communities preserve Ilha Verde hill

Communities living in the vicinity of Ilha Verde took the initiative to ask the companies occupying the area to clean up the hills. Neighborhood associations from Ilha Verde have recently expressed their willingness to preserve the place. The neighborhood is expecting the government to strengthen communications with the hill’s proprietors in order to conduct studies related to the conservation, as well as to restore the monuments located on the hill. Currently, the communities are trying to put up fences around the hill to prevent it from being damaged by third parties.

Teenager thought to have committed suicide

A 14-year-old middle-school boy was found dead in the water near Fai Chi Kei. The Judiciary Police (PJ) believes that the boy committed suicide. The corpse was found last Friday afternoon, and the PJ have confirmed that the deceased was a Macau resident. According to the parents, their son, who was attending the first grade of middle-school, was addicted to online games, and had difficulties studying in school, in addition to suffering from health problems. The PJ is still investigating the possible causes for the suicide.

19 venues for electoral campaign

A total of 19 venues will be arranged for election teams to conduct electioneering events, compared to the 17 venues used during the 2013 election. The two new venues are Sai Van Lake Square and Carmo’s Fair, election watchdog chairman Tong Hio Fong told reporters after yesterday’s Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL) meeting. Of the 19 electioneering venues available in the official run up to this year’s election on September 17, a total of 13 are on Macau’s peninsula, five are in Taipa and one is in Coloane. Tong additionally said the Commission had approved – as of yesterday – six applications for the nomination committee’s legal status, from 21 applications submitted so far.

Man arrested for abusing granddaughter

A 69-year-old local man has been arrested for sexually harassing his seven-year-old granddaughter. The suspect lived with his granddaughter and a few other family members in a public housing unit in Coloane. In the past two years, the man reportedly abused his granddaughter on several occasions. Only until recently, the victim, after learning about sex education at school, realized that her grandpa’s behavior was abnormal, whereby she forwarded the information to her mother. The suspect escaped from police investigations until last Saturday, when he turned himself in to the police. The suspect admitted to his crimes and is charged with aggravated sexual harassment of children.

CE lists ‘guidelines on how to educate students’

The University of Macau (UM) held its Joint Meeting of the University Assembly (UA) and University Council (UC) for the 2016/2017 academic year in its Ho Yin Conference Hall this week. Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, who is chancellor of UM and chair of the UA, presided over the meeting. According to a statement issued by UM, during the meeting, Chui noted that, “it is very important that everyone earnestly studies and understands the messages of the important speeches made by President Xi Jinping and National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang during their visits to Macau.” The CE added that “these messages should serve as UM’s new guidelines on how to educate students.”