Macao's Judiciary Police (JP) planned to hire 280 new staff members over the next five years, the JP director Wong Sio Chak said Thursday.

Wong told Xinhua that the JP, a criminal investigation force, currently has a staff of 507 and the growing working intensity, produced by booming casino and tourism industries, requires the enlargement of the staff.

He added that the blossoming gaming industry demands more police inspectors monitoring at the casinos and petty crimes are on the rise partly due to the swelling tourist arrivals.

Macao, with a population of 480,000, has 19 casinos on operation and a handful more under construction.

The number of gaming tables stands at 2,000 and might double in two years, the police chief said.

In 2005, the city recorded 18.7 million visitor arrivals.

Wong said the recruitment scheme was approved by the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2006)