Violent crime fell by 64 per cent year-on-year in Macau in 2020, a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data released today (Thursday) by the authorities.
In the world capital of casinos, kidnapping crimes, usually associated with gambling, dropped from 347 to 37 compared to 2019, a reduction of almost 90 per cent.
“As a result of pneumonia caused by the new type of coronavirus, the number of tourists has decreased significantly, which has had a huge impact on the gaming sector,” police authorities noted.
“Although the situation has been recovering lately, the statistical data related to the gambling sector in the whole year 2020 are not relevant, therefore, in this summary, we do not assess the impact that the development of the gambling industry has regarding public security in Macau”
Still, within violent crime, drug trafficking dropped 40.3 per cent.
Fraud fell 34 per cent and extortion crimes 36.2 per cent, when compared to the same period last year.
In 2020, the authorities also saw a reduction in crimes against property (-38.6 per cent) and against people (-15.2 per cent).
However children sexual abuse cases have more than doubled to 24 last year
