The frozen body of an Indonesian man has been found aboard a detained Chinese fishing vessel, authorities said on Thursday, adding that they suspected foul play in the crew member’s death.Indonesian police said they intercepted two boats in the Malacca Strait this week after receiving a tip off that a crew member had died aboard one of the vessels.The 20-year-old may have been tortured and his body had been kept inside a freezer of the Lu Huang Yuan Yu 117 since late June, said Riau province…
Malaysia’s last living amah searches for her roots, hopes to reunite with family in China
A centenarian, believed to be the last living ma jie (amah) in Malaysia, is in search of her real identity and hopes to reunite with her family in China.The 105-year-old, who was part of the legacy of housekeepers known for keeping their hair in a long plait and donning white blouses and black pants, remembers her Cantonese name to be Ngan Dou Tai.She lost her identity card decades ago and because of her old age, her worn-out fingerprints cannot be scanned any more.Tan Swee Ban, the founder of…
Japanese girl, 3, starved to death after being left alone at home for a week
Police in Japan on Tuesday arrested a woman in Tokyo on suspicion of leaving her three-year-old child alone at their home for more than a week, while spending time with her boyfriend and letting the girl starve to death, police said.Saki Kakehashi, 24, admitted to the allegations, the police said, adding they believe she had routinely neglected and abused the daughter, Noa.Backing up the suspicion, a friend of Kakehashi’s told the police, “she had left home for several days or returned late at…
Malaysia’s palm oil firm Sime Darby probes allegations of labour abuse
Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation on Wednesday said it would look into “serious allegations” of forced and child labour conditions in its estates, after a Hong Kong-based activist group petitioned the US Customs to ban imports of its palm oil.The world’s largest palm oil company by land size is the latest Malaysian palm giant to be hit with calls for an import ban, following two similar petitions against FGV Holdings in August last year.Sime Darby is seen as a leader in sustainably-produced palm…
From Singapore to Thailand, why are political sibling rivalries such a huge draw?
Indonesian politician Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, 69, comes from a family of two presidents. Her father, Sukarno, fought for the country’s independence from Dutch rule, and was in office from 1945 to 1967. Her older sister Megawati Sukarnoputri, 73, who leads the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), was president from 2001 to 2004.But blood does not always bind siblings in politics.Rachmawati is known as a staunch critic of her sister. During last year’s bruising legislative and…
Singapore election: PM’s brother Lee Hsien Yang says PAP focused on elite, blind to citizens’ anger
The estranged brother of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made waves when he joined the opposition Progress Singapore Party last month.While he stopped short of contesting the July 10 poll, Lee Hsien Yang’s political foray signifies a shift in the family’s public squabble – from the feud over the house of their father and founding premier Lee Kuan Yew, to governance under the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) led by his elder brother.The feud has spilled over into other conflicts…
Carlos Ghosn’s accused accomplices pull US political strings to avoid extradition to Japan
Two men held in a US jail on charges of engineering ex-Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Tokyo are trying to use political influence to win bail and avoid extradition to Japan.Lawyers and lobbyists for former Green Beret Michael Taylor and his son Peter have pressed their case before the US Justice Department and State Department, as well as lawmakers in Congress, according to lobbying disclosure forms and four people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss a…
India’s coronavirus epidemic overtakes Russia as Indonesia, Philippines see continued surge
The Philippines and Indonesia both recorded worrying surges in coronavirus cases on Monday, in stark contrast to their Southeast Asian neighbours where the pandemic appears to be subsiding.Meanwhile, India overtook Russia to become the third worst-affected nation by the coronavirus after reporting 24,248 new cases on Monday, while Australia has closed the borders of its two most populous states in response to a fresh spike in cases.Indonesia reported 70 casualties from the coronavirus on Monday…
Statue politics: how India quietly removed colonists from their pedestals
On the river banks in Barrackpore, a sweltering town some 30km from Kolkata, the statues of 13 dead British men stand high above the ground on brick-red plinths. One is made of marble and 12 are made of metal, but they all have the identical distant gaze – instantly recognisable to every Indian as the contempt with which government service officers treat them.In 1969, 22 years after India’s independence, these statues were taken down from their pedestals at the intersections of the busiest…
Durian and beer turned into healthy probiotic booze by Philippine researcher
An ale that rewards drinkers with a healthy gut may sound like an idea devised during a night of heavy boozing. Combine that beer with durian – the spiky, smelly, sometimes polarising fruit popular throughout Southeast Asia – and it’s a concept bordering on the absurd.This sheer novelty value – and a love of beer – inspired Kriza Calumba, a food and science technology instructor from Davao in the Philippines, to create her unusual but healthy concoction.“We already know how good probiotics are…