Traditional healer arrested for allegedly molesting saleswoman

Traditional healer arrested for allegedly molesting saleswoman

KUALA BERANG: A traditional healer was arrested by the police yesterday afternoon at his house here after he was suspected of molesting a saleswoman while providing treatment.

Hulu Terengganu Police Chief, Deputy Superintendent Mohd Adli Mat Daud said the 52-year-old suspect who initially claimed to be working at a traditional treatment centre was said to have committed the vile act on Nov 22 and 24, when the victim sought treatment at the his house.

“The suspect’s actions came to light when the 30-year-old victim went to the treatment centre and inquired about the suspect, before being informed that the suspect had actually been suspended. The victim then lodged a police report at the Kuala Berang Police Headquarters,“ he said in a statement today.

The suspect has been remanded for four days beginning today, and the case is being investigated under Section 354 of the Penal Code. 

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Cannabis still considered a dangerous drug in Malay

Cannabis still considered a dangerous drug in Malaysia 

PUTRAJAYA: The status of cannabis as a dangerous drug in Malaysia remains unchanged despite the United Nations’ recent decision to reclassify the substance, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (pic).

The Home Minister said cannabis and cannabis-related substances would still be classified as a controlled item under the Dangerous Drugs Act, which carries the death penalty.

The recent decision by the Convention on Narcotic Drugs does not affect the status of cannabis in the country.

“Cannabis and cannabis-related substances remain regulated under the Dangerous Drugs Act.

“Anyone found guilty of breaking the law will be punished accordingly, ” he said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the UN had voted to remove cannabis from a list that categorised it as one of the world’s most dangerous drugs.

The move came following the recommendation by the World Health Organisation that research into its medical use was made easier.

Hamzah said the reclassification did not mean control on cannabis was loosened at international level.

“Internationally, cannabis is still tightly controlled under Schedule 1 of the 1961 Convention.

“As a member of three UN conventions on drugs – the 1961 Convention, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance 1988 – Malaysia remains committed to eradicating drug-related crimes domestically and internationally, ” he said.

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Housewife turns pickup truck driver delivering fish fry

FACED with dwindling household income due to Covid-19, a housewife from Teluk Intan, Perak, took up a job as a pickup truck driver delivering fish fry across the country, Sin Chew Daily reported

Since May this year, Chen Mei Ling, who has never used GPS navigation in her life, has driven more than several thousand kilometres delivering freshwater fish fry from a hatchery in her hometown to breeding centres in Johor, Selangor and Pahang.

Chen, 50, said she had never imagined that she would one day become a pickup truck driver.

“I used to sew embroidery. But orders stopped at the beginning of the movement control order (MCO), badly affecting my income.

“The owner of a hatchery nearby suggested that I help him make deliveries. I thought I wasn’t suited for the job as it requires long-distance driving and I don’t know the roads well, ” she said.

With encouragement from the owner and her family, Chen decided to give it a try. She felt scared at first but with each successful trip, her confidence grew.

“I’ve overcome so many challenges since and I now know I’m capable of doing the job, ” she said.

    The daily also reported that a man from China who had embarked on a worldwide road trip after ending a long relationship with his girlfriend has found love in Malaysia.

Fan Yuhu, 50, a video director in the advertising industry, spent four years travelling across 77 countries in Europe, northern and southern America, Africa and Asia in his van.

He was stuck in Malaysia from March when the pandemic hit and the MCO began. What was supposed to be a five-day stopover turned into eight months as borders around South-East Asia closed.

Fan did not expect romance to blossom during his prolonged stay when he met 30-year-old Zhu Xinyi from Johor Baru.

Zhu, who had just returned to Malaysia after leaving her job in the Philippines, took up Fan’s offer when he posted an online ad looking for a travelling companion to help him take photos for his book.

They soon fell in love during their road trip and decided to get hitched after dating for two months.

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Teenager saved by friends who 'bash' crocodile into submission

We attacked the crocodile until he released our friend 

 A teenager was saved from being eaten by a crocodile after six of his friends "bashed” the reptile, injuring one of its eyes, at Sungai Kampung Mengkabong here.

Tuaran District Police chief DSP Mohd Hamizi Halim said the victim, Azlan Arif Abdullah, 16, sustained injuries to his body, right leg and abdomen in the 3.30pm incident on Thursday (Dec 3).

He said the 1.52m long crocodile attacked the group of children, aged between nine and 16, when they were looking for clams and river snails while trying to cross the river.

"They quickly attacked the crocodile with whatever they in their hands until one of them managed to injure the crocodile’s eye, forcing it to release the teenager,” he said when contacted by Bernama on Friday (Dec 4), adding that the victim’s house was near the mangrove river.

He said the victim, who is being treated at the Tuaran Hospital, would be referred to the Kota Belud Hospital or Papar Hospital for further treatment. - Bernama

TAGS: crocodile, Sungai Mengkabong, teenager, Tuaran

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Ministry seizes counterfeit eyewear, caps worth RM1.5m in Kuala Lumpur

Ministry seizes counterfeit eyewear, caps worth RM1.5m in Kuala Lumpur

Enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs inspect counterfeit goods in Kuala Lumpur, December 3, 2020. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) in Kuala Lumpur seized 36,722 units of counterfeit eyewear and caps of various brands estimated to be worth RM1.5 million in a raid on two premises in Chow Kit, today.

Kuala Lumpur KPDNHEP director Ariffin Samsudin said the raid was carried out following a report lodged by the trademark owner’s representative.

He said an inspection was carried out at a wholesale centre in Lorong Haji Taib which was found to have eyewear and caps suspected of using fake trademarks of well-known brands.

“Upon questioning the caretaker of the premises, the police were led to a premise in Jalan Raja Laut used to store the goods before they were sold,” he told Bernama today.

He said the goods were sold online or via wholesale to customers nationwide.

Commenting further, Ariffin said 45 cases had been recorded under the Trademark Act 2019 in Kuala Lumpur to date this year, with RM4.8 million in goods seized.

“KPDNHEP warns the public not to break the law, especially with regards to the sale and distribution of counterfeit goods,” he said.

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No Malaysian workers sleeping on the streets in Singapore'

 No Malaysian workers sleeping on the streets in Singapore'

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore Manpower Ministry (MOM) has met Shahruddin Hael Helmy Mohd Noh over his claim that more than 100 Malaysians with work pass holders in Singapore were living on the streets in the republic as they could not afford to rent a room or a bed.

In a statement today, the ministry said it had engaged Shahruddin on Nov 23 and 27 following the New Straits Times' report over the matter on Nov 22 to get information so it could provide necessary assistance to these workers.

The Singapore Government has an Inter-Agency Taskforce comprising officers from MOM, the Social and Family Development Ministry, and the Singapore Police Force. 

MOM said the Taskforce conducts routine inspections and checks across the island and any rough sleepers found would be referred to the relevant agencies for assistance. 

"As part of these routine checks, officers visited various locations island-wide late into the night on Nov 26, including the places listed by Shahruddin.

"However, we did not find any work pass holders sleeping on the streets.

"Persons found sleeping in the open, including work pass holders, are rendered assistance," it said. 

Their employer, MOM said, would be asked to provide lodging immediately or the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) would house them in the interim if the employer is not able to do so. 

MOM, it said, had also established links with various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to refer any work pass holders found sleeping rough. 

"In the past few months, MOM has not received any referrals from the NGOs." 

MOM also reminded all employers of their obligations to their foreign employees and to ensure that they had proper accommodation during their stay in Singapore. 

"Members of the public who know of any work pass holders facing accommodation issues should refer them to MOM or the MWC's 24-hour hotline at 6536 2692 for further assistance."

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America's Got Talent' Child Magicians, Ages 13 and 15, Arrested

Kid magicians Kadan and Brooklyn Rockett, ages 15 and 13 respectively, who made it to the semifinals of America's Got Talent in 2016, were arrested by police in Louisiana last week. The arrest stems from a custody battle between their parents. According to TMZ, the teenage siblings were with their father when authorities were called in to return them to their mother in Utah after a Missouri judge ordered the handoff. The young Rocketts refused to go and in response, per the New York Post, the pair was cuffed, strip searched, and placed in separate jail cells for the night at a juvenile detention center.

It all stems a 2019 court order that requires Kadan and Brooklyn to split their time with both their parents. However, the kids have been living with their dad in California and don't want to see their mom. In a video of the arrest on TMZ, the children plead they are afraid of their mom, but police had paperwork from the judge and say they didn't have a choice. As they put the teens in handcuffs and read them their Miranda rights, Brooklyn sobs.

The Rocketts were in Louisiana for their grandmother'suneral, which is how their mom knew where to send the police to retrieve them. She and their dad divorced back in 2009 but the custody issues have lasted since then. It's also not the kids' first time behind bars. A police report from Missourifrom last year shows they've accused a judge of illegally locking them up in courthouse holding cells after another custody hearing. 

After his release from jail a few days ago, Kadan posted a photo with his sister and dad at the lockup, captioning it, "I’m going to write a book one day. Maybe even do a Lifetime movie."

No word on what the kids were charged with, if anything, but apparently nothing will appear on their permanent record.

Meanwhile, a concerned neighbor has set up a Go Fund Me for the kids. 

373 passengers stuck at sea after ferry breaks down near Langkawi

Image just for illustration 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Marine Star 2 ferry, carrying 373 passengers, was left stranded at sea some 30 minutes after leaving the Kuah passenger terminal in Langkawi.

The Marine Department said the ferry operator towed Marine Star 2 back to the Kuah passenger terminal after the incident at 11am on Thursday (Dec 3).

All passengers were required to board the Starcity Express 3 ferry at 12.19pm for the journey to Kuala Perlis passenger terminal.

"It is said that the incident occurred due to the ferry's congested diesel filter," the department said in a statement.

The department reminded the ferry operator to ensure that such incident does not recur.

"The department has formed a team to investigate the matter further.

"We view the matter of passenger safety and comfort seriously. We also hope all passengers abide by Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs)," it added.

Report: Facebook changing ‘race-blind’ hate speech policy

The move comes as Facebook faces pressure from civil rights groups who have long complained the social network does too little to police hate speech

NEW YORK: Facebook is revising its hate speech algorithms to prioritise blocking slurs against Black people, Muslims and others that have historically faced discrimination, the Washington Post reported on Dec 3.

The change is set to alter the social network’s “so-called race-blind” system that has removed anti-white comments and excised innocuous comments by people of colour, the Post said.

The reform is at an early stage and aims to target speech deemed “the worst of the worst”, including slurs against Black people, Muslims, people of more than one race, the LGBTQ community and Jews, according to internal documents obtained by the newspaper.

The new system means slurs against white people or men will be characterised as “low-sensitivity” and not automatically deleted, the article said.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move comes as Facebook faces pressure from civil rights groups who have long complained the social network does too little to police hate speech. Earlier this year, more than 1,000 advertisers joined a boycott of Facebook to protest its handling of hate speech and misinformation.

At the same time, the company and its rival Twitter have also been taken to task on Capitol Hill by Republicans who say the platforms are biased against conservatives.

On Wednesday, Twitter said it was expanding its definition of hateful content to ban language which “dehumanises” people on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin.

Twitter said it would remove offending tweets when they are reported, and offered examples such as describing a particular ethnic group as “scum” or “leeches”. – AFP

Firm can hire foreign workers if they finance deportation of those held at the immigration depots

Firm can hire foreign workers if  they finance deportation of those held at the immigration depots 

PUTRAJAYA: Big corporations will be allowed to bring in foreign workers, but in return, they are required to finance the repatriation of foreigners held at immigration depots.

The hiring of foreign workers in the metal, scrap and used item sub-sector will also no longer be allowed. These were among matters discussed at the first Home and Human Resources Ministers joint committee meeting on Thursday (Dec 3).

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the proposal to get major companies to hire foreign workers with the understanding that they pay to send home those at immigration depots will soon be raised in Cabinet.

"The ratio will be one to one. If a company needs to hire five foreign workers, we will allow them to do so provided they pay to deport five migrants that are at the immigration depots.

This is one way that we can resolve the issue of overcrowding in depots," he said after co-chairing the meeting with Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

Hamzah added that companies can opt to hire those in detention centres but pointed out that only 15% of them are employable.

"There are undocumented migrants in the depots with criminal records and we don't think they are employable.

"Also we are of the opinion that those with family should be deported to their homeland.

"Employers can either find suitable candidates from the depots or apply to bring in workers from abroad provided SOP compliance on Covid-19 must be followed," he said.

Hamzah also said the hiring of foreigners in the mentioned sub-sector would no longer be allowed, adding that those currently hired will cease to be employed within the next three years.

"This means that foreigners currently hired under the sub-sector cannot have their work permit renewed," he said.

There are currently 21,154 people employed under the sub-sector with 2,931 of them are foreigners.

The committee also agreed with the Human Resources Ministry's proposal to postpone the implementation of a multi-tier levy.

This was supposed to be in effect on Jan 1 but will now be implemented on July 1, 2021.

Hamzah said the meeting agreed that the levy rate in the multi-tier levy system is reviewed to ensure its effective implementation.

Saravanan said the economic scenario following the pandemic had called for the need to review the multi-tier levy mechanism.

"With the delay in the mechanism, we call on industries to restructure their businesses especially in the aspect of labour where workers' employability should be given to locals," he said.

On the foreign workers illegal immigrants' recalibration programme, Saravanan said that the Labour Department had received 134 applications from employers involving the hiring of 19,734 foreign workers.

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Conditions set to hire foreign workers

 Conditions set to hire foreign workers

PUTRAJAYA: It has been proposed that big corporations be allowed to bring in foreign workers on condition that they finance the repatriation of illegal immigrants detained at immigration depots.

The hiring of foreign workers in the metal, scrap and used item sub-sector was also recommended to be scrapped.

These were among proposals discussed at the inaugural Home and Human Resources ministers joint committee meeting held here yesterday.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the proposal to get major companies to hire foreign workers with the understanding that they pay for the home passage of illegal immigrants would be raised in the Cabinet soon.

“The ratio will be one-to-one. If a company needs to hire five foreign workers, we will allow them to do so provided they pay to deport five illegal immigrants in Immigration depots.

“This is one way that we can resolve the issue of overcrowding in depots, ” he said after co-chairing the meeting with his Human Resources counterpart Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

Hamzah explained that companies could also opt to hire those in detention centres but said that only 15% of the population there were employable.

“There are illegal immigrants in the depots with criminal records and we don’t think they are employable. Also we are of the opinion that those with families should be deported, ” he said.

On the hiring of foreigners in the mentioned sub-sector, he said those currently hired would ceased to be employed within the next three years.

“Foreigners currently hired in the sub-sector will not have their work permits renewed, ” he said.

There are currently 21,154 workers employed in the sub-sector with 2,931 being foreigners.

The committee also agreed with the Human Resources Ministry’s proposal to postpone the implementation of the multi-tier levy, which was to come into effect on Jan 1, to July 1 next year.

Hamzah said the meeting agreed that the levy rate in the multi-tier levy system be reviewed to ensure its effective implementation.

Saravanan said the economic scenario due to the Covid-19 pandemic called for the need to review the multi-tier levy mechanism.

“With the delay in the mechanism, we call on industries to restructure their businesses especially in the aspect of labour, ” he said, adding that priority should be given to locals.

On the foreign workers-illegal immigrants recalibration programme, Saravanan said the Labour Department received 134 applications from employers on the the hiring of 19,734 foreign workers.

cre~thestar

Ringgit opens higher on firmer oil prices

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar for the third consecutive day, riding on the firmer crude oil prices fuelled by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries+’s (OPEC+) production decision.

At 9.01 am, the local unit was traded 120 basis point higher at 4.0610/0670 against the greenback from 4.0730/0750 at Thursday’s close.

After a series of meetings over the week, OPEC+ had, on Thursday, agreed to raise oil production by 500,000 barrels per day beginning January next year.

According to CNBC, the markets reacted positively towards the outcome as they viewed the small increase of supply was not deadly for balances.

At the time of writing, benchmark Brent crude rose 0.66 per cent to US$49.03 per barrel. And every US$1 per barrel increase in oil prices will add about RM300 million to Malaysia’s revenue.

Meanwhile, Axi chief global market strategist Stephen Innes said the better-than-expected China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), which rose to 54.9 in November 2020 from 53.6 in October, also boded well for the ringgit.

"If oil prices hold base as desired, I would expect the ringgit to remain in a favourable light and poised to play more catch up with the yuan even more so next week,” he told Bernama.

At the opening bell, the ringgit was traded mostly lower against other major currencies except the Singapore dollar.

It went down against the yen to 3.9120/9189 from 3.9058/9081 at Thursday’s close, declined against the pound to 5.4645/4746 from 5.4586/4617 and slipped against the euro to 4.9333/9422 from 4.9328/9360.

Vis-a-vis the Singapore dollar, the ringgit was nearly unchanged at 3.0440/0496 from 3.0441/0467 at the close on Thursday. 

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