The increase is due to the “continuous increase in the crime of fraud” and, in particular, “fraud using telecommunications and cyber fraud”, said the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, in an assessment of crime.
Between January and March, 656 cases of fraud were recorded, which represents an increase of 50.8% compared to the same period in 2023.
Crimes against property, which includes fraud, increased by 23.9%, to 2,186 cases, compared to the first three months of last year. Highlight is the 28.9% increase in theft crimes (total of 558 cases); 655.6% of usury crimes (68); 8.5% of illegitimate appropriation (521) and 50% of theft (12).
Violent crime also rose (24.2%), and “in the context of crimes of serious violence, such as kidnapping, homicide and serious bodily harm”, Macau continues to “maintain a zero rate or a very low rate”, said Wong.
The Secretary for Security also noted that crime figures in the period under analysis are higher than those in the first quarter of 2019, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the “rapid increase in cases of fraud”. However, highlighted Wong, “cases relating to other types of crimes, namely crimes of serious violence, are notably lower than those recorded before the epidemic”.
Macau adopted the ‘zero Covid’ policy, imposing, until the end of 2022, strict anti-pandemic measures, namely border restrictions, quarantines lasting up to 28 days and various tests of the entire population.
The Government also signaled today that crime related to the gaming sector, in the first quarter, “showed a certain increase”, with 351 cases, compared to 158 in the same period last year.
“The reason is believed to be related to the substantial increase in the number of tourists and the recovery of the gambling industry”, reads a report on the impact of gambling on Macau’s security, released today.
However, the document indicates that the value is lower than that of the same period in 2019, “reflecting the success of the police’s targeted prevention and combat work”.
Macau registered the arrival of more than 8.8 million visitors in the first quarter of the year, 79.4% more than in the same period of 2023, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service.
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