GGRAsia – Macau police to beef up surveillance at casinos

Macau police to beef up surveillance at casinos

Jan 14, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak (pictured), said on Tuesday that the territory’s police would liaise with executives in the local casino and hotel industries to reinforce surveillance at gaming properties. Mr Wong said authorities want to strengthen cooperation with the industry to prevent illegal activities at casino hotels.

Mr Wong spoke to local media following the dismantling of what was described by the police as a large prostitution ring at Hotel Lisboa in downtown Macau. Several senior hotel executives were arrested, including Alan Ho, a nephew of gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun.

SJM Holdings Ltd manages the casino at Hotel Lisboa. SJM Holdings didn’t respond to queries from GGRAsia. A spokeswoman for the property said it had no comment to make.

Alan Ho was described in previous SJM Holdings filings as a member of the senior management of the company, who held “a concurrent management role in STDM Group”, the firm founded by Stanley Ho that owns Hotel Lisboa.

On Tuesday, Mr Wong said the investigation over the vice ring at Hotel Lisboa went on for more than a year, before the arrests over the weekend. He did not reveal if similar investigations were being conducted in other properties in Macau.

“We will strengthen communication with senior executives in casinos and hotels,” Mr Wong said, adding that the police would beef up surveillance at casino properties across the city.

The police detained six suspects, including senior Hotel Lisboa executives, for their alleged involvement in the prostitution ring. The police estimate the ring made more than MOP400 million (US$50 million) over the past two years.

A statement issued on Monday by the Macau government said that Mr Wong had promised senior officials of the Public Security Forces that they would get more equipment and manpower to enable them to “optimise their performance in maintaining a secure society”.

During a visit to Macau in mid-December, China’s President Xi Jinping called on the territory to show “greater courage and wisdom” to “strengthen and improve regulation and supervision over the gaming industry”.