Three more people have been arrested today (Tuesday) for infractions to partial lockdown restrictions, with police authorities warning that the prosecution and trial of such infractions could be fast-tracked and possibly warrant the revocation of non-resident work permits.
Macau SAR authorities have ordered the suspension of all commercial and industrial business activities in the city for seven days starting from midnight on 11 July, with the exception of those that maintain the normal operation of the society.
Some 905 people have already been admonished on the first day of the new seven-day long citywide static management for possible infringements on the new pandemic prevention policies, with 810 admonished today as of this afternoon.
According to police authorities, officers from various security departments continued to conduct publicity, persuasion, patrol and law enforcement work in various communities across Macau today.
The law enforcement department detained three people today so far, all of which cases of improper wearing of health masks.
A total of nine people have been detained since the early morning of July 11 for infractions to the current pandemic prevention guidelines, all of which were transferred to the Public prosecutions Office for further investigation.
“From now on, the law enforcement departments will detain the offenders when there are illegal acts that need to be prosecuted, and immediately send them to the public prosecution’s office and the court for processing,” the Head of Police Liaison and Public Affairs Division of the Unitary Police Service, Cheong Kin Ian said in today’s pandemic update press conference.
“The judiciary, depending on the circumstances and in accordance with the law, could adopt faster litigation procedures for immediate judgment”.
Under local legal regulations, the Public Prosecutor’s Office can ask courts to engage in a ‘summary procedure’ in order to speed up the process.
In order to do so, it is necessary to fulfil the legal requirements, namely, the defendant must have already reached the age of 18 at the time of arrest and the crime committed is punishable with a maximum prison sentence of no more than 3 years, thus allowing the judgment hearing to take place within 48 hours.
Those found to be out of their homes for reasons other than to perform one of the activities considered essential for people’s subsistence or to assist relatives in need during this period can in penalties from 240 days fine or up to two years of imprisonment.
The Public Prosecutions Office and local courts will operate under special arrangements from July 11 to 15 with services only involving urgent matters, including cases involving infringing pandemic restrictions.
The police once again reminded all people in Macau that they need to abide by the the current partial lockdown restrictions.
Foreign employees could also see their non-resident worker card permits, known as blue cards, revoked due to these criminal offences.
