The number of gambling-related crimes in Macau increased 11.2% during the first quarter of the year, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said at a Monday press conference. The official further noted that although gambling-related crime rate has gone up, Macau’s general security has not been affected seriously.
During the quarter ended March 31, 2016, the city’s Judiciary Police opened as many as 368 case files for crimes related in any way to gambling. In comparison, there were 331 such cases reported during the same period of the previous year.
Of all gaming crimes to have occurred during the period in review, 89 were related to illegal detainment, representing a rise of 32.8% year-on-year. As many as 67 such cases were registered during the first quarter of 2015. There were also 106 cases of loan-sharking to have occurred during the reviewed period, up 55.9% as compared to the figure announced for the same three months of the previous year.
Secretary Wong said during a press briefing on the quarterly crimes data released that despite the considerable growth in the number of gambling-related crimes, there was no “significant signal” to be showing that the downturn of the city’s gambling industry was bringing perceivable negative effects to overall security.
The official also attributed the reported increase in the number of illegal detaining and loan-sharking cases to the fact that local security departments have taken the initiative to unveil such criminal occurrences.
According to the information released, most of the cases involved individuals who were not residents of the special administrative region, known to be the only Chinese territory where casino gambling is legal. What is more, most of the reported crimes occurred in local gambling venues.
Another important thing Secretary Wong paid attention to during the Monday press briefing was the fact that there were no triad-related crimes to have been registered during the first quarter of the year. Criminal syndicates crimes, on the other hand, increased by one case to four by the end of the reviewed period.
As many as 424 suspects for committing gambling-related crimes were transferred to the office of Macau’s Public Prosecutor during the quarter, up 17.5% year-on-year.
