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Macau's future chief vows to crack down on triads
1999-08-25
HONG KONG - Macau's post-handover chief designate Edmund Ho expressed his determination to crack down on organised crime gangs when he takes over the enclave under China in December, reports said Tuesday. "We will do our best to crack down not only on triads but also on those using the triads for their self-interests," Ho told Cable TV in an interview. "I will not allow them to destroy Macau." He said "all means" would be used to root out these people who tried to make use of triads. "I will not allow the triads to challenge the government," said Ho. He said the stationing of Chinese troops in the Portuguese enclave after the handover will deter triad activities. China has announced it will station troops in Macau after the colony reverts to mainland rule, despite Portugal's opposition. Macau will return to Chinese rule on December 20 after more than 400 years of Portuguese administration. Ho said the government had "many resources" to crack down on violence in Macau, not only the police and the judiciary. The enclave has been shaken in recent years by bombings, shootings and other violence believed linked to a gangland war for control of lucrative gambling and prostitution rackets. In the latest attack, a man was shot dead last week while he was on a public bus -- the third such incident in less than a week. A day earlier on August 18, Macau legislator Ng Wing-lok, 69, was beaten by a gang of men. The attack reportedly was either a warning or retribution as Ng has been outspoken with calls for higher casino taxes and tighter control of the gaming industry, the driving force behind Macau's economy. Two people were killed and three others injured in a suspected underworld bomb attack a week earlier.
Macau's future chief vows to crack down on triads (1999-08-25)Europe's oldest Asian colony to return to China (1999-05-17)Crime, economy to test Macau's anointed leader (1999-05-16)
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