/ SEA Saturday, January 19, 2019 03 Vietnam police detain 9 people over pangolin trafficking Singapore former govt stalwart seeks to form new party Hanoi : Vietnamese police have detained nine people in an animal trafficking bust related to Singapore: A former stalwart of Singapore’s long-ruling government and ex-presidential candidate the endangered pangolin, police reported late Thursday. About 2 pm (0800 GMT) Thursday said Friday he is seeking to form a new party ahead of elections expected as early as this year. News police checked the house of Tran Trung Thanh in Cong Thuong village, Kim Son 1 Commune Analysts said the move by Tan Cheng Bock, who almost beat the ruling party’s de facto candidate in brief of Ha Tinh province. Officers allegedly found 215 pangolins weighing a total of 603 kilograms, in the 2011 presidential race, could represent a challenge to the government’s dominance of the the Ministry of Public Security said in an online statement. Native to Asia and Africa, the pan- political system. The People’s Action Party (PAP) has ruled the affluent city-state since 1959 and golin is a scaly mammal that eats insects. Its scales are used in traditional medicine in parts has a tight grip on power. The forthcoming election, which they are widely expected to win, must be of Asia, although the trade is illegal internationally. (dpa) held by 2021 -- but speculation is mounting it will be this year. (AFP)

Cleric behind Bali bombing to be freed from prison Singaporean woman convicted of forcing

AFP liest militant attack and released, but one of the cleric’s domestic help to hurt self with hot water Jakarta prompted Jakarta to beef up lawyers said it could be as ear- AFP tailed in six charges against the the newspaper said. Another anti-terror cooperation with ly as next week. Singapore wife–Linda Seah–include two charge said Seah told the maid A cleric thought to be the spir- the US and Australia, which Bashir, speaking from Gu- instances when the maid was to hurt herself “by knocking her itual leader of the Bali bombers has previously opposed clem- nung Sindur prison, welcomed A Singaporean woman was forced to pour hot water onto head on the floor”. Seah also will be released from prison on ency for Bashir. the news. found guilty Friday of abusing her left shoulder “to voluntarily forced the maid to drink “water medical grounds, Indonesia’s Indonesian President Joko “If I am released, I’ll praise her Myanmar maid, including cause hurt to herself”. adulterated with floor cleaner”, president said Friday. Widodo said on Friday that he Allah,” he told reporters, adding forcing her to pour hot water According to the Straits according to another charge. Abu Bakar Bashir, 80, is had agreed to order the ailing he was not hostile to the state. onto herself and to drink water Times, Seah, 39, was unhappy In late September 2016, believed to have been a key fig- preacher’s release from a prison In 2011, the firebrand laced with floor cleaner. with the maid as she felt she Seah abused the maid by grab- ure in terror network Jemaah on the outskirts of the capital. preacher–once synonymous The abuse of the maid, was slow in completing her bing her by the hair and “shak- Islamiyah (JI), which was “The first reason is humani- with radicalism in Indo- Phyu Phyu Mar, happened chores. ing her until quite a lot of her blamed for the 2002 bombings tarian,” Widodo told reporters. nesia–was sentenced to 15 from August to October 2016 The maid suffered scald hair fell out”, according to an- on the holiday island which “He is old... and his health years in jail for helping fund at the house of the Singapo- marks and blisters on her skin other charge. killed more than 200 people, condition was also part of the a paramilitary group train- rean married couple who em- but instead of sending her to A month later, Seah repeat- mostly foreign tourists. consideration.” Widodo did ing in the conservative Is- Jailed Indonesian cleric ployed her, according to court a doctor, Seah gave her a nee- edly hit the maid on the fore- It was Indonesia’s dead- not say when Bashir would be lamic province of Aceh. Abu Bakar Bashir. documents. The abuses de- dle to poke the blisters herself, head with a mobile phone. Duterte names new Nayong Pilipino ‘Vote yes’ to ratify autonomy board members philstar a 97,000-square meter inte- for Muslim : Duterte manila grated resort and casino. It was originally for 70 PRESIDENT years, reduced to 50 years be- Ballot a ‘peaceful means’ to correct injustices done to the Muslim minority in the country, says Duterte appointed two new board fore settling for 25 years. members of the Nayong Pili- Duterte said he fired the pino Foundation Inc. (NPFI) board members because he months after he relieved its did not like gambling and or- previous officials because of dered that no more additional alleged corruption. casinos would be built. “Do Lucille Malilong Isberto not give gambling licenses or and Michelle Aguilar Ong will franchise for 75 years. The replace Patricia Ocampo and child is born today, 75 years Gerald Medina. later he’s that old. There will Isberto is a lawyer who still be gambling in the city previously served as head [and] I will not allow it,” Du- of the Committee on Monu- terte said in a speech during ments and Sites of the Na- the 117th Police Service Anni- tional Commission for Cul- versary in Camp Crame, Qu- ture and the Arts and at the ezon City. International Council on “I hate gambling. I do not Monuments and Sites Philip- want it. There will be no ca- pines, Inc. sino outside of what is exist- Malacanang, on August ing now. I am not granting 8, announced the firing of the anything. [For] as long as it is entire board of directors and gambling, I do not want that. management of the NPFI for Look for something enticing forging a 25-year, $1.5-bil- to wager war [on] money,” lion-lease contract for a casi- Duterte added. no under the NayonLanding Duterte also appointed project that was deemed as former Malabon City vice “grossly disadvantageous” to mayor Mark Allan Yambao the government. as new undersecretary of the The contract, which was Department of Social Welfare entered into by the NPFI and and Development. Chinese company, Landing Duterte signed the ap- Resorts Philippines Develop- pointment letters on January ment Corp. (LRPDC), pro- 15, copies of which were re- vides for the construction of leased on Friday.

Philiippine officials (File photo) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with Al-Hajj Murad, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman and Ghazali Jaafar, VC of MILF, makes ‘V’ sign after signing of peace deal at the Malacanang Palace, Manila.

say no outbreak of dpa of the Auton- Manila omous Region in Muslim PNP announces arrest of IS-linked Mindanao on Monday. meningococcemia Philippine President Rod- A second round will rigo Duterte on Friday called terror suspect in happen on February 6 to manilatimes declared dead at the Valen- on nearly 3 million voters in cover different areas in manila zuela City Emergency Hospi- the country’s southern re- MANILA: Just ahead of the January 21 plebiscite, the Philippine National Mindanao. tal on Monday, the health de- gion to ratify a law creating a Police announced the arrest of alleged Islamic State-linked terrorist Abu Bakar Pagayao, who is The new autonomous en- THE DEPARTMENT of partment added. The agency new autonomous entity that suspected to be a member of the local terror group Ansar Al Khilafah Philippines. tity will replace the current Health (DoH) on Thursday said a team had collected would “truly represent and Speaking to reporters on the security preparations for the plebiscite, Chief Inspector Eliseo Autonomous Region in Mus- allayed fears on social media laboratory specimens to con- understand” the needs of the Rasco, Region 12 police director, said Pagayao was arrested by Cotabato City police and the PNP lim Mindanao, which cur- of a meningococcemia out- firm if the child died of the Muslims who live there. Intelligence Group on the morning of January 15. rently covers five predomi- break in the country. severe bacterial infection. Three days before a pleb- “During inquest, he admitted being a member of being AKP, or local ISIS group,” Rasco said. nantly Muslim provinces in In a statement posted In the meantime, the scite for the creation of the The AKP is a group with a known presence in the provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato the southern Philippines. on Twitter, the DoH said: DoH said: “We are closely new Bangsamoro Autono- in Mindanao. Police said the group, which has been active since 2014, has pledged allegiance to The current entity has re- “There is no reported menin- coordinating with our re- mous Region in Muslim the Islamic State. mained highly dependent on gococcemia outbreak; we gional office for contact Mindanao, Duterte said the “It’s a big deal that we got Pagayao,” said Rasco. “ He really had a plan, but he had no admis- the national government be- are, however, investigating a tracing. As precautionary vote was a “peaceful means” sion,” he added, saying that the police may have pre-empted the planned attack with Pagayao’s cause it does not have fiscal suspected meningococcemia measures, we have provided to correct injustice commit- arrest. Rasco said Pagayao was ordered arrested under “martial law order arrest warrant.” Police autonomy. case in Valenzuela City of a post-exposure prophylaxis ted to the Muslim minority say this was an important arrest after AKP leader Mohammad Jaafar Maguid alias “Tokboy” was The new autonomous two-year old female who ex- to close contacts of the pa- in the country. killed by police and military in 2017. (philstar.com) region would have a wider hibited signs and symptoms tients.” Valenzuela Mayor “Let us forget the bit- coverage and greater fiscal of the disease, which include Rex Gatchalian, over CNN terness of the past and look vote yes,” he told a peace ment to [their] determina- resents and understand the autonomy, with the national fever, vomiting, body rashes Philippines’ “Balitaan” forward to the future, which assembly in the city of Cota- tion to bring genuine peace needs of the Muslim people.” government automatically and loose bowel movement.” show, said child tested nega- means ladies and gentle- bato. and development in Muslim More than 2.8 million appropriating its share from The unidentified child was tive for meningococcemia. ment, my dear Moro broth- Duterte added that a Mindanao to an autonomous voters will start to cast state income derived from ers and sisters, you have to yes vote would be “a testa- government that truly rep- their votes for the creation the area. Drug war, attacks on critics has ‘deepened’ rights crisis in Philippines: HRW

journalists documenting his thousands more. Duterte’s HRW report, human rights ‘President Duterte has used the killing of abuses,” Brad Adams, HRW second year in office also saw group Front Line Defenders, Asia director, said. The gov- him and his men stepping up which focuses on threats to thousands of largely poor drug suspects ernment’s tally as of Novem- their attacks against activist rights advocates and workers, ber 2018 acknowledged the groups, the Catholic Church, said in its annual world anal- as a tool to bolster his popularity’ deaths of 5,050 “drug per- opposition politicians and ysis that the Philippines “re- sonalities” during anti-drug the media. mains an extremely danger- philstar Rights Watch noted that the operations. Although rights HRW noted the contin- ous working environment for MANILA, Philippines government’s war on drugs groups in the Philippines and ued detention of Sen. Leila defenders of land, indigenous had expanded to areas out- abroad assert that police and De Lima over drug-related peoples and environmental The human rights crisis in the side the capital while moves alleged police agents have charges, the ouster of Chief rights.” It said that at least 39 Philippines “deepened” dur- to silence its critics had in- killed thousands more. Justice Maria Lourdes Ser- rights defenders were killed ing President Rodrigo Du- tensified in 2018. The government’s tally as eno, the revocation of am- in the Philippines in 2018. terte’s second year in office “President Duterte has of November 2018 acknowl- nesty given to Sen. Antonio In December, Salvador as his administration con- used the killing of thou- edged the deaths of 5,050 Trillanes, the charges filed Panelo, the current presiden- tinued the bloody anti-drugs sands of largely poor drug “drug personalities” during against news outlet Rappler, tial spokesperson, claimed crackdown and escalated at- suspects as a tool to bolster anti-drug operations. Al- the criticisms against the that “organizations present- tacks against critics, a New his popularity. He’s also tar- though rights groups in the Church, and the vilification ing themselves as so-called York-based watchdog said. geting anyone who might Philippines and abroad as- of human rights and activist (File photo) Relatives weep as the coffin of an alleged thief and human rights defenders nev- In its annual report re- undermine that popularity, sert that police and alleged groups. drug peddler and victim of an extrajudicial killing is laid to rest in er had it so good under the leased late Thursday, Human from outspoken senators to police agents have killed Prior to the release of the Manila, Philippines. Duterte administration.”