The number of reported crimes in Macao reached 5,139 cases in the first half of the year, a year-on-year rise of 10.8 percent, local media reported Thursday.

However, The Macao Post quoted Secretary for Security Cheong Kuok Va as saying that the special administrative region's security situation continued to be "stable".

The number of violent crime cases in the six months fell 10.7 percent year-on-year to 374, Cheong told the newspaper.

The region recorded 1,599 theft cases, 171 robbery cases and 24arson cases during the period, it reported.

The region has a population of nearly 470,000.

(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2005)