MACAO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Instances of the most serious forms of crime, such as kidnap, murder and grievous assault, continued to be either non-existent, or extremely rare in Macao, the special administrative region's security chief said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a media briefing about the crime statistics and police enforcement activities in 2018, Macao SAR's Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said the police would remain vigilant for any upward trend of crimes to maintain Macao's safe environment.

The number of suspected crime cases reported in Macao in 2018 saw a 0.5 percent increase year-on-year to 14,365 cases. Meanwhile, the number of violent crimes reported in the period fell by 21.1 percent from 2017, to 647 instances.

In 2018, a total of 104 cases allegedly involving family violence was reported to the police. Following police investigations, only two from the aggregate number were categorized as domestic violence and were sent to the Public Prosecutions Office for further action.

Wong said it was notable that there were 27 cases of reported sexual abuse against children, representing a 50 percent year-on-year increase.

Burglaries reported in 2018 fell by 6.5 percent, to 2,747, 190 cases fewer than were recorded in 2017.

Regarding the reported number of scams, there were 1,195 cases in 2018, representing a rise of 31.3 percent from 910 cases registered a year earlier.

In 2018, a total of 93 people-smugglers had been apprehended, a 31 percent year-on-year increase. The number of suspected illegal immigrants detained during 2018 totalled 814, reducing 23.3 percent year-on-year.