Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Chau Wai Kuong said on Monday that drug-dealing cases recorded by his criminal investigation force rose to 122 last year from 85 in 2015, an increase of 43.5 per cent.
Chau revealed the figure during a Chinese New Year gathering and lunch for the media at the PJ headquarters in Zape.
According to Chau, the overall number of cases the Judiciary Police recorded last year increased by 9.2 per cent to 12,340.
Chau added that of last year’s 12,340 cases, the Judiciary Police solved 11,713, or 94.9 per cent, with 3,805 suspects having been transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP) for further investigation and possible charges.
The 2016 crime figures announced by the Judiciary Police on Monday did not include those from the Public Security Police (PSP), Customs Service and other law-enforcement agencies under the Secretariat for Security.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak is expected to announce Macau’s overall 2016 crime statistics soon.
According to Chau, the Judiciary Police recorded 122 drug-dealing cases last year, a 43.5 per cent increase year-on-year from the 85 cases in 2015. This rise followed a decline in such cases in 2015, from 103 cases in 2014.
The number of drug-abuse cases recorded by the Judiciary Police rose to 59 last year, compared to 51 cases in 2015, while there were 114 such cases reported in 2014, according to Chau.
Chau said that his police force would continue to combat drug-related crimes by gathering intelligence and strengthening co-operation with counterparts in neighbouring regions and countries.
Gaming-related crimes recorded by the Judiciary Police continued to rise last year, following a large increase in such crimes in 2015, according to a report detailing 2016 crime figures recorded by the Judiciary Police, which was released during Monday’s annual gathering.
According to the report, the Judiciary Police recorded 1,851 gaming-related crimes last year, a 19.2 per cent increase year-on-year, from 1,553 cases in 2015.
In 2015, the number of recorded gaming-related crimes rose by 38 per cent, from 1,125 cases in 2014, according to the report.
According to Chau, the number of reported cases of false imprisonment as a result of being unable to pay a gambling debt to loan sharks saw a significant increase last year, from 366 cases in 2015 to 503 last year, up 37.4 per cent.
The increase in such cases continued last year following a huge rise in such cases in 2015, which saw 366 such cases as compared to 65 cases in 2014, up 463 per cent, according to Chau.
Chau underlined that as these cases normally happened on casino-hotel premises, their impact on civil society as a whole was minimal.
Chau also said that the Judiciary Police have officers stationed in the city’s major casinos 24 hours a day.
Last year, the Judiciary Police recorded one murder case, the same as in 2015 and 2014, Chau said.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
