Macau (MNA) –Â Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan indicated that the Macau Chief Executive ordered that a study be conducted concerning if providing illegal accommodation services should be turned into an illegal offense.
The Secretary added that the opinions of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and of the Secretary for Security – with the former being in favor of the criminalisation but with the latter being against it – on the matter would be taken into consideration but that there was ‘still no preliminary direction on the matter’.
This study will analyze the key issues over illegal pension services in Macau, including all cases and how they have been resolved in the last two years, the Secretary said in a charity event held on Sunday.
Last week the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam stated that he was in favor of revising current regulations on illegal accommodation enforced in 2010, in order to introduce harsher penalties for infractions and transfer the responsibility of enforcing the regulations from tourism authorities to police authorities.
Meanwhile, during the 2019 Policy Address for Security, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, indicated he did not agree that illegal accommodation should be turned into a criminal offense, citing it would increase the courts workload and suggesting leasings should be registered with the Financial Services Bureau (DSF).
Secretary Sonia Chan was also questioned on the rental registration issue and if changes should be made to current regulations, with the Secretary saying she did not believe it to be necessary to revise them but that this would be considered in the study.
Speaking at the same event, the secretary for Security said he supported the study to be conducted and guaranteed that the Public Security Police Force (CPSP) would continue supporting the Macao Government Tourism Office inspectors in controlling illegal pensions.
