Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said on Monday that the number of gaming-related crimes rose by 55.9 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of the year.
Wong announced the city’s crime figures for the first three months of the year during a press conference at his office in Cotai.
According to Wong, gaming-related criminal activities, such as loan sharking and false imprisonment, recorded a comparatively large increase compared with the same period last year, respectively up by 55.9 per cent and 32.8 per cent.
Wong insisted that he didn’t believe this was a problem brought on by the current gaming slump, suggesting that it may just simply be that more cases were being reported to the police. He pledged that the police will continue to stay on top of the latest crime trends to ensure social stability.
According to Wong, the police recorded 3,333 suspected crime cases in the first quarter, down by 7.1 per cent year-on-year.
However, Wong added that violent crime rose 24 per cent in the first quarter.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
