Two police officers among 44 detainees in illegal karaoke bar bust
Two members of the Public Security Police Force (PSP) were among a group of 44 people detained yesterday during a police operation at an illegal karaoke bar located in an industrial building on the Avenida de Venceslau de Morais, the representative of the PSP, Lei Tak Fai, said yesterday during the press briefing of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center.
The venue was breaching current regulations by operating during the period of consolidation ordered by the Chief Executive in response to the recent Covid-19 outbreak.
The PSP also revealed that the venue had always been operating illegally as the establishment had never obtained a license to operate.
According to Lei, the venue was hosted in an industrial building and had several KTV rooms as well as darts games and a bar. It had been operating for approximately six months.
Along with the two police officers, 38 patrons, the alleged owner of the venue, a manager and two staff members were arrested.
The PSP also discovered in the ensuing investigation that the owner of the illegal karaoke bar is a Hong Kong citizen with no Macau work permit. The other three staff members including the manager are all Macau residents. The detainees are aged between 16 and 43 years old.
Alongside other charges, all 44 detainees have been prosecuted for infringing the law on infectious diseases by not wearing a mask.
Lei said that the two officers had joined the force in 2014 and 2017, respectively, and that internal disciplinary procedures addressing their behavior will commence.
In another case also involving prosecution for not wearing a face mask, an Indian national aged around 20 years old was detained by the police in the early hours of Saturday in Taipa.
According to the same official, the man was accused of sexually harassing a woman on the street at around 1:45 a.m.
He removed some of his clothes and his face mask while attempting to flee the scene.
Apart from the charges related to sexual harassment, which are yet to be investigated, the man has been charged with breaching the Infectious Diseases Act. The case has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office.
