Macau gambling inspector shot dead

A senior Macau gambling inspector was shot dead near the Lisboa Hotel yesterday, just metres from security force headquarters.

A gunman walked up behind Francisco Xavier Pinto do Amaral, 45, and shot him once in the back of the head as he walked to lunch with a colleague at about 1 pm.

The attacker, armed with a Chinese military issue 7.62 mm Black Star semi-automatic pistol, fled along the busy Avenida de Praia Grande. Amaral, who had two children and was No 3 in the Gambling Inspectorate, died instantly.

His attacker was believed to be a hired mainland hitman paid by triad gangsters.

Security chiefs said a three-man team was involved. 'We think he may have been followed for a few minutes by others, after he left his office, before being shot,' a police source said.

There were reports of a car fleeing the scene, as well as the gunman on foot, sources said.