Crime | Sexual assault cases up 64% as of Q3

The total number of crime cases in the first nine months of the year plunged by 33.1% year-on-year, whereas the number of sexual assaults against children has significantly increased, according to statistics provided by the Secretariat for Security.
Yesterday, the security authority revealed crime statistics concerning the first three quarters.
Between January and September, the police authority opened investigation files for 7,092 criminal cases, down 33.1% compared to the same period last year.
However, during this period, there were more sex-related crimes, including crimes against children. The statistics revealed that as of September, Macau has recorded 18 sexual assaults against children, up by 63.6% year-on-year. Ten of these cases were reported in the third quarter. The crimes mostly occurred in schools or in the children’s homes, with the suspects mostly consisting of relatives, classmates or teachers.
During the first nine months of the year, the police authority also investigated 65 blackmail cases, 46 of which were directly linked to communications including naked images. Last year, there were only four cases involving the same kind of communications between January and September.
The numbers also show fewer cases of human smuggling. Until the third quarter, the police authority has recorded 31 human smuggling cases, 28 fewer compared to the same period last year.
The Secretariat also remarked that since the city’s new tax law came into effect, taxi violations have reduced significantly.
Between January and September, Macau recorded a total of 93 cases of refusing to take passengers and overcharging, 96.9% less compared to the same period in 2019.
The security authority believes that once all of Macau’s taxis have a computer terminal system installed, the number of taxi violations will hopefully decrease even further.
Police have also recorded 47 cases in which car owners offered taxi services without an authorization.
Authorities also cracked down on 52 illegal gambling cases, 42 more than the same period last year.
When speaking about illegal gaming, the police authority said that in most cases individuals had provided an unauthorized space for people to play mahjong or other types of gambling activities.

Categories Headlines Macau