Sri Lankan claims trial to 80 charges of raping girlfriend's daughter
PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): A Sri Lankan man pleaded not guilty at the Special Court for Sexual Crimes Against Children here to 80 charges of raping his girlfriend’s underage daughter. The 37-year-old man, who is also the child’s guardian, was charged with raping the girl, who was then 13, at a house in Puchong from Jan 9,2018 to Nov 5,2019. Section 376(1) of the Penal Code provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction. Judge Yong Zarida Sazali set Feb 15 for mention of the case and did not grant the accused bail on all charges. Meanwhile, lawyer Muhammad Syazwan Mohd Hasan, who represented the accused, said his client’s passport was in the process of verification.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 15:22 UTC
Thailand's Future Forward Party leader vows to march forward
BANGKOK: Leader of Thailand's Future Forward Party Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit on Tuesday (Jan 21) vowed to "march forward" after the Constitutional Court ruled to clear his party from charges of attempting to undermine the system of constitutional monarchy. The Constitutional Court earlier on Tuesday cleared Future Forward Party of charges that it had tried to undermine the democratic system under the monarchy. However, the Future Forward Party is facing another court battle with the Thai Constitutional Court. The latter has yet to rule on a request by the Election Commission to have the party dissolved on the grounds that it received loans from its leader in violation of the Political Parties Act. - Xinhua/Asian News NetworkArticle type: free User access status: 3
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 14:26 UTC
Shelve PSS and send Filipino refugees home instead, proposes Upko
KOTA KINABALU: Ruling state coalition government partner Upko proposes that Sabah puts a halt to the planned Sabah Temporary Pass (PSS) for Filipino refugees despite its "noble intention" to resolve Sabah's five-decade-old problem. "The current government's intention of introducing the PSS is noble, but the sentiments of the majority of the people are against it. "This is understandable considering what Sabah has experienced and gone through in the last five decades or so," Madius said. "Now, we are seeing and hearing rising sentiments in opposing the PSS," he said amid questions over the PSS during the campaign for the Jan 18 Kimanis by-election. "The Sabah illegal immigrant issue is a serious problem and the state continues to face the existence of illegal immigrants possessing identification cards.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 14:15 UTC
Teacher remanded for rape, molest of student
ALOR GAJAH (Bernama): A school teacher is being remanded for seven days from today to facilitate investigations into alleged molest and rape of a 17-year-old female student last March. Alor Gajah district police chief Supt A. Asmadi Abdul Aziz said the suspect, who is also a volleyball coach, would be remanded until Jan 27 for investigations under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape and Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017. He said the preliminary investigation found the 42-year-old widower picked the victim up from a house in Telok Mas and was to send her to Alor Gajah for a meeting of the school volleyball team at 8 am on March 27 last year. "The victim claimed the suspect instead brought her to a chalet in Pengkalan Balak and allegedly molested and raped her at a hotel in Port Dickson the next day (March 28). Arshad said the suspect then sent the victim home the next day and warned her not to reveal the incident as he had a pornographic video of her which he would make public.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 13:52 UTC
MACC arrests govt agency director over alleged fraud
KOTA BARU (Bernama): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested the director of a Federal Government agency over alleged fraud here on Monday (Jan 20). It is understood that the arrest of the 45-year-old director was made based on complaints over his involvement in submitting false claims for the department's programmes and courses. It is suspected false details were furnished for supply of drinks and course equipment as well as programmes, which were not delivered in full. In addition, the department's vehicle maintenance claims were also suspected to contain false details as it is believed that no maintenance was carried out. Kelantan MACC director Ramli Ismail, when contacted confirmed the arrest but declined to comment further, saying the suspect is on remand for four days beginning Tuesday (Jan 21) for investigations.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 13:30 UTC
PM chairs first National Productivity Council meeting
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today chaired the first National Productivity Council (NPC) meeting for 2020. Chief Secretary to the Government, Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali, posted on his Instagram page that the NPC is a platform to discuss strategic directions to empower the national productivity agenda in driving sustainable and inclusive economic growth to achieve the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. Mohd Zuki also uploaded two pictures of the meeting. Meanwhile, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that the NPC was revived in Feb 2019 to guide overall national productivity. “The membership of the NPC has been rearranged so that its membership comprises experienced and expert groups to identify issues and problems at all levels,” he said in a Twitter post.
Source:New Strait Times
January 21, 2020 13:30 UTC
Police: 42 fatal accidents during first three days of Op Selamat 16
PETALING JAYA: There have been 4,971 road accidents as Op Selamat 16 entered its third day on Monday (Jan 20), with 42 of those being fatal. "Out of that, 42 road accidents were fatal and 28 of the deaths involved motorcyclists and their pillion riders," he said. Statistics also revealed that Selangor had the most number of accidents, recording 1,557 in the first three days, followed by Johor and Kuala Lumpur, which recorded 786 and 548 accidents, respectively. "Additionally, there were 10 fatal accidents each in Johor and Selangor and six more fatal accidents were recorded in Kedah," he said in a statement Tuesday. Op Selamat 16, conducted in conjunction with Chinese New Year, will end on Feb 1.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 13:18 UTC
Scomi Energy is now a PN17 company
KUALA LUMPUR: Scomi Energy Services Bhd has slipped into Bursa Malaysia’s Practice Note 17 status. Bursa said Scomi Energy had met the criteria subject to Paragraph 2.1 (e) of Practice Note No. Shares of Scomi Energy and its holding company Scomi Group Bhd were suspended today ahead of the announcement. Scomi Group owns 65.64 per cent of the stake in Scomi Energy. Scomi Energy shares fell one sen or 12.5 per cent to 7.0 sen for a market capitalisation of RM163.91 million.
Source:New Strait Times
January 21, 2020 12:45 UTC
63-year-old woman killed in Sibu hit-and-run
SIBU: A 63-year-old woman died in a hit-and-run accident at about 4pm Tuesday (Jan 21) on Jalan Oya here. The victim has been identified as Len Tanbol of Matu, but stayed in Sibujaya working as a bottle cleaner at a shop near the scene of the accident. According to an eyewitness, the victim was crossing the road when a motorcycle ridden by a man knocked her down. She added that she could not see the registration plate of the motorcycle but remembered that it was a Yamaha 135LC motorcycle. Sibu OCPD Asst Comm Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said the case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by reckless or dangerous driving.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 12:22 UTC
CIMB Thai's net profit in 2019 grew 216 fold y-o-y
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Thai Bank PCL has registered a net profit of 1.501 billion baht for the year ended December 31, 2019, an over 216-fold year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 1.49 billion baht. As at December 31, 2019, total gross loans stood at 242.1 billion baht, up 6.3 per cent from December 31, 2018. Deposits stood at 241.5 billion baht, an increase of 3.1 per cent from 234.3 billion baht at the end of December 2018. As at December 31, 2019, total provisions stood at 10.5 billion baht, translating to a 4.9 billion baht excess over the Bank of Thailand’s reserve requirements. Total consolidated capital funds as at December 31, 2019 stood at 47.6 billion baht.
Source:New Strait Times
January 21, 2020 12:11 UTC
Nadal in the pink as Sharapova hits all-time low at Australian Open
"It was a positive start," said the reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion, wearing a bright pink singlet and matching trainers. "What you want in the first round is just to win, and it's better if it's in straight sets." Nadal, the first player to be world number one in three different decades, is still thriving at 33 but it's a different story for five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova. Medvedev, the narrow loser to Nadal in September's US Open final, dropped the second set against Tiafoe before recovering to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Air pollution from the bushfires disrupted the build-up to the year's first Grand Slam, but after Monday's heavy rain the skies were clear and sunny on Tuesday.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 12:00 UTC
Muslim insurgents, Thai govt hold peace dialogue in KL
BANGKOK: A senior Thai official met an envoy of the main insurgent group fighting in the country’s largely Muslim south in what both sides described as a positive step towards a peace process, the Thai government said on Tuesday. The BRN official added that the talks were attended by “observers from overseas“, without elaborating. The BRN was among several insurgent groups to have participated in formal peace talks with the Thai government until a military coup in 2014. The military junta resumed talks with other insurgent groups two years later but the BRN did not join that process, which stalled in 2018. Mara Patani, an umbrella group representing other insurgent factions, welcomed Monday’s meeting as a positive step for the stalled peace process.
Source:New Strait Times
January 21, 2020 12:00 UTC
Stock markets slide on fears over spreading virus
LONDON: Global stock markets slumped on Tuesday (Jan 21) as a SARS-like virus taking hold in China spooked investors, while sentiment suffered a knock also from a credit-ratings downgrade to major financial hub Hong Kong, analysts said. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 1.1% in late morning deals, after Hong Kong had slumped 2.8 percent by the close and Shanghai ended with a loss of 1.4 percent. Moody's has lowered its credit rating on Hong Kong, that has likely fallen into recession owing to the unrest as well as the China-US trade war. The number of people in China infected by a new SARS-like virus jumped to 291 on Tuesday, according to authorities. Tourism-linked shares plunged in Hong Kong, with Cathay Pacific losing more than four percent and casino operator Wynn Macau down 4.8 percent.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 11:48 UTC
Kyrgios shines for Australia after bushfire disaster
MELBOURNE: Australia’s Nick Kyrgios put his country’s bushfire disaster behind him and gave home fans something to cheer about with a first-round win at the Australian Open. He thrived in the atmosphere, grinding down Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/1). But he rose to the challenge and the 23rd seed did so in largely drama-free fashion, keeping himself calm for most of the match. With Kyrgios not facing a single break point, television commentator John McEnroe lavished praise on his booming serve. “He has actually got one of the best serves I’ve ever seen,” said the tennis legend.
Source:New Strait Times
January 21, 2020 11:37 UTC
Eight Malaysian movies available on Amazon Prime in the US, UK
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Eight Malaysian films are now available on popular video-on-demand service Amazon Prime for members in the United States and the United Kingdom. In a statement announcing the release of the titles on Amazon Prime, Primeworks Distribution Sdn Bhd general manager Lyn Nasihin said it was a recognition for Malaysian storytelling. "This is only the beginning of our relationship with Amazon Prime and we will see more Malaysian content on the platform," she said. Amazon Prime, with 100 million users worldwide, is a paid subscription service offered by US tech giant Amazon that gives users access to services including delivery, streaming music, and video, among others. The release of these titles on Amazon Prime underscores Primeworks’ commitment to bringing the best of Malaysian content to international audiences by expanding the global distribution of these titles on popular digital platforms such as Amazon Prime.
Source:The Star
January 21, 2020 11:37 UTC