The level of criminality in Macau during the first quarter of 2023 (Q1) has grown in general terms by some 17.2% when compared with the same quarter of 2022, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, announced yesterday morning during a press conference dedicated to presenting the results of a policing and crime report for Q1.
Growing at a greater rate were crimes related to the distribution of counterfeit currency (+233.3%), arson (+166.7%), and cybercrime (+95.8%). Other crimes, namely of a violent nature, such as homicide and bodily harm, have also registered a high growth in percentage (+100%), but this happens because there were no cases of this type of crime reported in Q1 of 2022, while this year there was one case of each.
Still growing are the cases of crimes against people and of a violent nature, such as rape (+28.6% = nine cases reported in the Q1 this year) and the sexual abuse of children recorded in the same period, being one more case than last year, resulting in a total of 10 cases (+11.1%) in the first three months of the year.
On this topic, Wong said that although there has been an increase in the cases of rape, “almost 70% of the victims were not residents of Macau and the majority met the suspects in the casino,” adding that since the majority of the alleged crimes took place in the suspects’ hotel rooms, the authorities believe that some cases are related with sexual relationships between victims and suspects as well as result from potential cases of prostitution.
On the other hand, crimes like inducement, help, and lodging of illegal immigrants; sham marriage, false adoption, or fake job hiring have dropped significantly compared to one year ago, by 37.1% and 50%, respectively. The same occurred for the crime of consumption of illegal drugs which dropped by 50%.
Also following the same descending trend were the cases related to overstaying of people with tourism visas (-9.7%).
Nonetheless, the reopening of the borders and the removal of restrictions, and the enforcement of stricter rules related to Covid-19 have led to the entry into Macau of more illegal immigrants from the mainland. The number of these cases discovered by the authorities has increased from January to March by 21 cases when compared to last year and comes to a total of 67 (+45.7%).
The Influx of people on a larger scale registered in the last few months also contributed to the increase of almost all aforementioned crimes against property. Highlighted were the theft of motorbikes, which increased by 137.5% to a total of 19 cases, as well as the cases of illegal appropriation of found things (+34.5%) and fraud (+35.5%). There was a 18.2% decrease in usury, a crime that had traditionally high rates due to the operation of loan sharks, who loan money at very high-interest rates to gamblers to play in casinos.
False declarations growing significantly
Increasing this year was the crime of paying “false declarations,” which recorded an average of 10 cases per month over Q1, a number that represents an increase year-on-year of 57.9%.
An increase was also registered in the cases of “disobedience,” considered a crimes against the territory, which recorded an increase of 14 cases and 36.8%.
Gaming-related crimes under control
During the same press conference, Wong noted that crimes related to the gaming industry have increased, as expected, with the resumption of related activities on a large scale, but noted that such criminality is under relative control and is not posing any risks to society in general. He also emphasized that, in the future, as the number of tourists further increases, these types of crimes may increase further, noting that security authorities will maintain close attention to the sector and continue to use online and offline methods to strengthen crime prevention.
Preventing phone and internet scams a priority: Secretary for Security
With the increase in fraud cases and scams targeting residents and other people in Macau, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said that security authorities are continuing to prioritize prevention.
Wong noted that scams and cybercrime-related frauds have exceeded even the figure recorded in 2019 (pre-pandemic), noting that the “police have already studied and analyzed the characteristics and changing trends of related crimes, adjusted their law enforcement strategies in a targeted manner, and … dealing with the issue [in] three ways, including prevention, combat, and recovery,” he said.
Noting the exponential increase in cases of phone scams, Wong said, “to help victims reduce and recover their losses, the police, in cooperation with the banking sector and police departments or neighboring regions, continues to carry out a series of measures that aim to signal suspicious remittances as well as to stop suspicious payments”.
Under this strategy, Wong said that 168 cases involving a total amount of over 54 million patacas were prevented, advancing that such systems will continue to be used and improved to combat new types of scams and frauds that have now become trends, namely related to false investments and fraud carried out over the internet. RM
