44 seCurity
goods are hawked, but also with the Zhuhai and “I don’t think we were drugged because we did
Guangdong authorities, so we can track the culprits not sense a thing – I think that is so uncanny,’’ said
who jump the border,’’ he said. Antonio.
António’s case only became worse and the
Lack of manpower traumatic experience, he wished he could just
move pass, would linger for days. Two weeks after
The CID chief is concerned the lack of human the break-in, the police had gotten nowhere.
resources could damage their best intentions: “We António found the phone cards from the stolen
do not have any established communication with mobile phones in the stairway of the building and
the mainland authorities, and only rarely will the realised his problems could be local. He’d never
thieves sell the stolen goods in Macau. warmed to the area where he lived, near Rua do
“That would be the only way for us to catch Campo, because it was so polluted and this just
them. But I must admit that only seldom will we get made things worse.
the culprit(s) or retrieve the stolen property. It’s nec- Eventually, they decided to move and now live
essary to do more in terms of prevention. Macau’s on Taipa Island, in a building with video surveil-
authorities must establish more night patrols and the lance and a porter.
residents lock up doors and windows,’’ he says.
Lastly, Chau warns that iron bars aren’t enough, Violence rare
especially if vertical only: “They are easily prised
open. It’s better to have both vertical and horizontal The criminals “leave no trace and make no
bars to hinder any type of access. And, even so, noise”, says Chau. He also quashed rumours that
always lock the windows”. the culprits are using some form of “smoke’’ to
stupify victims: “There’s been no confirmed case
Traumas and Harassment where chemicals have been used,’’ he says.
As traumatic as the experience of waking up to
In September last year António Faria, who’d realize a stranger has entered your home and stood
just arrived in Macau a couple of months previous- in your bedroom, while you lay sleeping and de-
ly to work in the audiovisual field, went to bed at fenceless, is, the danger is limited to just that. The
midnight. His girlfriend followed suit at 2 a.m. At 9 CID chief says violence is rarely used.
a.m. they awoke startled. The alarm clock had not “When intruders are caught red-handed, there
gone off. They had been the victims of a break-in. are two possible outcomes. If possible, they will
The couple had never locked their front door run. If caught in a situation where their exit is cut
because they’d never heard of break-ins in Macau off, they will react with violence until they find a
and had always been told it was a very safe city. way out,’’ he says.
The intruder(s) had broken-in, gone to the liv- Last year, a woman was found dead, suffo-
ing room and taken all the cash from their wallets cated with a pillow. It was concluded that she had
and a camera before moving stealthily through the been the victim of a robbery, but the investigator
house, entering the bedroom, searching the night- says this may have been an attempt to cover up the
stands and taking the couple’s mobile phones. homicide:
be alarmed!
o
bVIouSly, the most expensive alarms guarantee, potentially, more security. but these aren’t for
every pocket, especially in a time of crisis.
the Chubb, fire and Security Company will place an alarm on two windows and one door, with
sensor and siren, for MoP6,700 plus a maintenance fee of about MoP250. If the client doesn’t feel safe
with a siren, they may join a 24-hour protection service, where they will be in permanent contact with the
company’s central offices.
If the alarm goes off, an operator will call the house and, if necessary, the police.
even so, there are those who cannot spend this much. they can always buy a small, more
rudimentary alarm, at a Japanese “Dayso” store. It costs MoP10 and can be turned on and off manually. It
features an alarm that would scare off the dead.
february 2009
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