r/ProtectAndServe • u/UltraGwyl • 22h ago
Macau Security Police officer after firing five warning shots during the 2007 May Day Protest
Eight years after the handover of Macau, the public security situation and its economy has increased greatly, as a result, the people of Macau became bolder in expressing their opinions. At the time, Macau was plagued with issues on foreign workers and housing prices etc. In addition, in 2005, the then Secretary of Transport and Public Works was arrested for corruption amidst allegations of the government siding with the developers. As a result, the people of Macau were at their boiling point when they headed into their annual May Day Protest.
The organizers submitted a route plan to the Macau Public Security Police Force, however it was rejected and changed on grounds that it was too dirsruptive to traffic and quality of life. The organizers and the PSPF each insists that their route was the way the protest would go and the conflict wasn't resolved when the day of the protest arrived. As a result, when the protest reached the point of deviation between both parties, the protesters attempt to breakthrough police lines. In an attempt to control the crowd, a Security Police officer fired his revolver towards the air five times (some say he did so at his superior's orders), the first time in 17 years. This successfully aggravated the situation and the protestors punched through the first police line by throwing bamboo sticks and plastic bottles. The police was able to disperse most of the crowd with pepper spray and cleared everyone out at 8.p.m.
Somehow, one of the bullets fired by the officer flew over the fifth tallest mountain in Macau (60.7 metres tall) and struck a motorcyclist 300 metres away. This caused a large uproar obviously but the then Secretary of Security insisted the officer took proper action. However, he was transferred to the fleet services after the incident, which is an unarmed position. In 2009, he was able to pass his sergeant's exam.
In an attempt to placate the anger, the Government of Macau launched a "Wealth Partaking Scheme" in 2008, each Macau citizen would receive a disbursement of 10,000 Macau dollars each year. (1236.90 USD) Due to the close proximity of the two incidents, the officer would be jokingly referred as the "Father of the Wealth Partaking Scheme".