New Macau Association urges Gov’t to clarify contentious ‘rumour offence’

Macau (MNA) – The New Macau Association (NMA) has urged the Macau SAR government to clarify or withdraw the crime for ‘rumour offence’ in the proposed Civil Protection Law, claiming that the phrasing is ‘overly vague’.

In the bill – currently under committee evaluation – the government seeks to criminalise ‘unfounded or biased news concerning risks, threats and vulnerabilities, in the event of sudden incidents of a public nature’, claiming that ‘many countries and regions’, such as Switzerland or France, had imposed similar criminal sanctions on the dissemination of rumours.

However, NMA pointed out that the provisional scope in Switzerland and France on ‘rumour offence’ are much narrower than Macau which does not provide strong support for the creation of a new offence about rumours in Macau. 

“[These countries’] objective is to punish those who impart knowingly false information about dangers to persons or property rather than control the spread of rumours as described in the Consultation Report,” the NMA stated in a press conference held today.

Although the authorities said that the establishment of a ‘rumour offence’ requires to prove the ‘intention’ to ‘disrupt the cessation or the relief or cause public panic’, the association criticised its vague wording in defining ‘intention’ as it would bring a heavy burden on residents.

The association said it will submit their comments to the Legislative Assembly (AL) and request clarification for the article to the standing committee currently analyzing the bill.