Computer crime in Macao dropped 85.1 per cent year-on-year to 48 in the first quarter of 2022, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak has announced.
Wong commented that the “enormous” decrease of 274 cases was due to the police forces’ strengthened cooperation with their counterparts in neighbouring regions, as well as heightened public awareness.
“Various measures have brought the number of computer crimes down, and the number has been dropping since the third quarter of last year. The reduction was more obvious in the first quarter of this year,” Wong said.
In the first three months of this year, Macao’s law enforcement agencies recorded 2,565 suspected crimes, a year-on-year decrease of 12 per cent.
“Macao’s public security landscape remained good and stable in the first quarter of this year. Most types of crimes saw a decrease compared to the same period of last year, particularly violent crimes whose number saw an obvious drop,” Wong said.
The number of reported violent crimes fell 39.4 per cent year-on-year to 43 cases in the first quarter.
The police recorded six arson cases in the first quarter, 12 cases less than in the same period of last year, or a 66.7 per cent year-on-year reduction.
Four robberies were reported in the first three months of this year, five cases less than in the same period of last year.
Seven rape cases were reported, one case down from last year’s corresponding period.
However, the number of reported child sexual abuse cases increased 80 per cent year-on-year to nine in the first quarter of this year, or four cases more than in the same period of last year.
Moreover, four cases of sex with a minor aged at least 14 but under 16 were reported in this year’s first quarter, three cases up year-on-year, or a 300 per cent increase.
No homicide was recorded in the first quarter of this year, and very few serious violent crime cases such as kidnapping and grievous bodily harm were reported.
A homicide case was reported earlier this month, when two female Chinese mainlanders were found to have been murdered in a hotel guestroom in Cotai. The suspect was arrested in a town in Huaihua city in Hunan province last week.
Sixteen drug-selling cases were reported, three cases down from the same period of last year.
While the total number of reported fraud cases dropped 0.9 per cent year-on-year to 321 in the first quarter of this year, or three case down, the number of reported telephone fraud cases saw a significant year-on-year increase of 275 per cent in the first three months of this year, when 15 such cases were recorded, 11 cases up from last year’s corresponding period, The Macau Post Daily reported.
