A gunman shot a gambling inspector at close range outside a casino yesterday. Jose Madeira, 21, was leaving the Macau Palace floating casino in the Inner Harbour when the attacker, a pillion rider on a scooter, fired two shots, hitting him in the face and shoulders.
He was in serious condition last night. The driver of the jeep, identified only as Mr Ribeiro and believed to be a colleague of Mr Madeira, was not hurt.
Macau sources said Mr Madeira's two elder brothers are also government officers - one with the Judiciary Police, which has been clamping down on triad gangs.
Last year Mr Madeira's former boss, Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Antonio Apolinario was also shot twice, in the face and neck, and survived.
At least 17 people have been killed this year in Macau's triad turf war.