Spate of Casino Kidnappings has Officials, Gamblers Worried

The number of casino crimes in Macau jumped during the first quarter of 2013.  These include a rise in kidnapping reports.

From Macau Business Daily:

Secretariat for Security announced on Friday that 238 crimes in gaming establishments were reported to the police in the first quarter, 13.9 percent more than a year earlier.
Another 31 crimes otherwise connected to gambling were reported, almost three times more than a year earlier.
Of those crimes, 21 were kidnappings, 13 more than a year earlier.
The kidnappers abducted 61 people, 43 of them mainland Chinese and nine of them Macau residents.


We are keeping a close eye on these crimes,” a spokesman for the Secretariat for Security told Business Daily.
“We know how important the gaming industry is for Macau.”


Secretary for Security Cheong Kuoc Va noted that Macau was “a visa-free city for almost everyone”, which “makes it easier for criminals to enter”. 

- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com