USJ pens admission agreement

On Friday, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) signed an agreement of direct admission with the Macau Portuguese School (EPM) at the campus of EPM. The agreement will mean that EPM’s Form 6 graduates are eligible to apply for direct admission to USJ, sparing them the need to sit the university’s entrance exams as well as waiving the registration fees for the application. Under the new agreement, prospective students from EPM will only be required to take an English-language benchmark test and undergo an interview. Furthermore, applicants for direct admission will have an acceptance priority for the courses of their choice. USJ’s rector, Peter Stilwell, and the principal of EPM, Manuel Peres Machado, signed the agreement.

Former IC chief acquitted

Former Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) vice president Stephan Chan has been acquitted from charges of abuse of power, after it was alleged in 2011 that he had used his position to aid his brother in securing a service contract. The Court of First Instance dismissed the charges due to a lack of evidence. Separately the court decided that Chan was to pay a fine of MOP420,000 for inaccuracies in his required declaration of assets. He was found to have not declared some assets in 2008 and 2010. “From the very beginning, I have never done any mistakes at work, so this verdict has created a very big impact on me,” Chan told journalists. Another civil servant accused of leaking information to Chan’s brother during the procurement process, was also acquitted by the court.

PSP arrest 39 illegal workers

The Public Security Police (PSP) arrested 39 people on Saturday on suspicion of illegally working on construction sites in Cotai. After receiving a tip off last month regarding illegal workers, police authorities began an investigation on the Cotai site, which resulted in the arrest of 17 workers on the site itself as well as a further 22 found at a site’s dormitory. “The investigation found that some people arranged for the illicit workers to work at the construction site,” PSP spokesperson Lam Keong told TDM. “They arranged accommodation and vehicle escorts for them.” According to Lam, it is possible that the illegal workers, aged between 20 and 50, collaborated with security guards of the construction sites so that they could enter them unobtrusively from the rear gate. Authorities are still investigating how the illegal workers entered Macau.