Police Wall Up a Sintra Shopping Centre in Tapada das Mercês After Finding a Frail 71-Year-Old Man and a Woman Sleeping in Its Shops

A shopping centre in Tapada das Mercês, in the municipality of Sintra, has been shut and its entrances walled up after a police-led inspection found two people sleeping inside shops in what the authorities called degrading conditions, alongside fire hazards and a general state of disrepair. The PSP announced the closure on Tuesday 20 October, in a statement reported by the Lusa news agency and published by Observador. The operation itself took place on Thursday 15 October.

What the inspection found

According to the PSP, the operation was run through its Sintra division after complaints that shops were being used as homes and that the building had serious hygiene, sanitation and safety problems. Inspectors described "a scenario of widespread degradation": accumulated rubble and other materials, poor lighting and ventilation, strong odours and signs that pests could spread.

They also identified fire risks linked to the amount of stored material, including gas cylinders kept next to flammable products, and some rooms were hard to reach. One of the businesses still trading in the centre did not hold the licence it needed to operate, the police said.

The two people found sleeping there

A 71-year-old man was found staying in one of the shops. The PSP said he showed signs of physical frailty, had difficulty moving and had several visible wounds. Emergency services treated him at the scene and took him to the Amadora/Sintra hospital, on suspicion of dehydration and for a medical assessment.

The second person was a woman who had already been flagged to social services. The police said both were living in conditions "manifestly incompatible" with minimum standards of habitability, hygiene and safety, and that both have been referred for social follow-up, with the competent services to assess their needs and find suitable accommodation. The statement does not say where either person is now staying.

The operation also involved Sintra's municipal police, civil protection and social emergency teams, the Mem-Martins volunteer firefighters and the Sintra-Amadora public health unit.

What happens next

Municipal civil protection and the council's planning inspectorate judged that the building had to close immediately. The main entrance and the rear accesses have been bricked up. One rear door has been left open for now, solely so that owners and others with goods inside can remove them, in coordination with the authorities. Technical reports are to be drawn up to document the conditions and assess the risks, and the police said the space should stay closed until safety, hygiene and sanitation standards are met. The statement does not say how many shops the centre holds or when it might reopen.

The case comes a fortnight after police in the same municipality found older residents held in armchairs at an unlicensed care home in Belas. Official figures also show that over-65s now have the highest rate of persistent poverty of any age group.

Where to turn

• Social emergency line, 144. The Linha Nacional de Emergência Social runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, for anyone without the minimum conditions to get by or facing real and imminent danger. Eviction, loss of housing and homelessness are among the most common reasons people call.
• Sintra council's emergency social service. The council has run the Serviço de Atendimento e Acompanhamento Social since April 2023. Emergency cases are seen at Praça Dom Afonso Henriques, 2710-520 Sintra, Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 16:30; parish councils handle planned follow-up by appointment, and a street team covers people sleeping rough.
• Unsafe or misused buildings. Complaints to the authorities triggered this inspection. If a life is at risk, call 112.