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Fox Yi Hu

A dispute over casino profits led to the brutal murder of a  driver for a VIP gaming hall, Macau prosecutors said yesterday.

Wan Luen-weng, 39, was stabbed in the stomach in Macau's central district on  August 22. The killer  twisted the knife in the victim before pulling it out. Wan, who used to be a junket operator, died in hospital about an hour later.

The Public Prosecutions Office said there was strong evidence  that the  murder  was linked to casino proceeds. Five suspects aged 17 to 35, including four Macau residents, were arrested last week in a cross-border operation involving Guangdong and Macau police.

The suspected killer, 35,  whom police have not identified, remains in detention.  The others have been released on bail. It is believed the victim belonged to the same gang.

Violence relating to the casino business has shown signs of resurfacing as competition heats up in the gaming market, prompting calls for better regulation of the industry.

In April, a mainland gambler fell to his death inside the Sands Macao  casino. He  had been chased around the venue just before his death. In March, a Macau junket operator hired a killer to gun down a mainlander over profit disputes.

The deaths rang a warning bell with locals still talking about the mysterious slaying of two Macau casino managers across the border in Zhuhai last year.

Legislator Jose Coutinho  urged the government to activate the gaming committee, which is supposed to be responsible for regulating the  industry, and invite  parties with no casino interests or links to join it.

'As new casinos increasingly crowd out the old ones, a lack of regulation gives rise to problems such as turf wars,' he said. A growing  shortage  of police was  another factor in dealing with casino-related crimes, the legislator said, adding that higher salaries were needed.



Murder of Macau casino driver linked to dispute over profits