Briefs | Zhuhai relaxes house purchasing restrictions

The Zhuhai government has announced a change in its housing policy that streamlines the process of purchasing luxury housing. The announcement was released by the Zhuhai Bureau of Housing, Urban and Rural Planning and Construction on Friday night. It said that, in order to improve the development of the residential property and regulate the population density, homebuyers no longer need to provide proof of social security and tax payment when purchasing properties of 144 square meters or larger in the central region of Zhuhai city. The submission of the proof is also exempted for those who want to buy houses in new regions such as Hengqin and Tangja Bay.

Tanzanian man arrested after ingesting 72 heroin bags

A 21-year-old man from Tanzania was preventively arrested for hiding 72 bags of heroin inside his body. The Public Prosecutions Office (MP) concluded its investigation into the case. The man was first detained when arriving at Macau International Airport on September 13 after traveling from Kuala Lumpur. Authorities found 72 heroin bags hidden in his body after a full body x-ray scan. The man confessed he had only just started helping drug trafficking networks for a USD5,000 reward. The prosecutor found sufficient evidence of  drug trafficking, and suggested a preventive arrest, which the court has approved. The Tanzanian man will remain in custody at the Macau Prison until his trial.

Cross strait joint operation cracks major fraud syndicate

The police authorities from Macau, the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have launched a joint operation against a group that was alleged to have been involved in more than 87 phone fraud cases that targeted Taiwanese residents, with the victims being defrauded out of a total of HKD200 million. The operation has led to the arrest of 31 people, including a Taiwanese leader of the group. The authorities believe that the syndicate has been in operation for two years. It also has another leader from the mainland. An amount of HKD3.2 million was retrieved from the four regions during the operation. The authorities believe that they have successfully cracked the syndicate, although some members of the group may still be at large.

Mosque vows no skyscraper wall

The media last week revealed that the Macau Mosque and Cemetery has filed an application for development of their land lot on Ramal Dos Moros. Documents on the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSPOT) website showed that the maximum height of one of the future buildings on the lot could reach 127 meters. Some are concerned that there will be no space between the skyscrapers (known locally as ‘partiperties’, or creating a wall-like effect) at that location. The Islamic Assocation of Macau (IAM) stressed that the development of the land lot will be mainly for religious purposes and there will only be one residential building. The association also promised there would be no partiperty. It also suggested that the cemetery and the mosque would be preserved.