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news without borders
Two arrested for trafficking in women for vice
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Close liaison
between Australian and Malaysian
police led to the arrest of a man
and his girlfriend yesterday said to
be behind the supply of local and
foreign women for vice activities
overseas.
Acting on a tip-off from Austral-
ian police, an anti-vice, gambling
and secret societies team from
Bukit Aman raided a rented
house in Pandan Perdana at 1am,
where the 44-year-old man and
his girlfriend, aged 55, were stay-
ing.
Federal police CID deputy direc-
tor DCP Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah
said the couple were the main sus-
pects in the syndicate and had used
Malaysia as a transit point for their
activities.
He said the suspects had used
forged passports, visas, student visas
and other documents in the traffick-
ing of local and foreign women from
Asian countries.
He said the women, all in their
20s, were sent to Australia and
several European countries to work
Health travel council to drive
medical tourism
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian Health
Travel Council will be launched in
December to promote the country as a
medical tourism hub.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow
Tiong Lai said yesterday Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak would
launch the council, aimed at attracting
tourists and spurring the development
of the health industry as a service
provider.
“We have the capability and resourc-
es to develop health tourism here,” he
More loan
defaulters
becoming
drug mules
by Meena L. Ramadas
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Malay-
sians having to become drug mules and
committing credit card fraud to repay
debts to loan sharks is on the rise.
MCA Public Services and Complaints
Department head Datuk Michael Chong
said there had been more than 29 cases
of international drug smuggling and
credit card fraud involving mostly young
people from 2007 to this year.
Chong, who is also a special adviser
to Home Minister Datuk Seri Hisham-
muddin Hussein, said the figure was just
the tip of the iceberg, with many cases
going unreported.
“These cases were the few relayed to
my department by concerned parents,”
he said at a press conference at Wisma
MCA yesterday.
Present was Deputy Foreign Affairs
Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong, who
No H1N1 deaths for
three weeks
KUALA LUMPUR: No influenza A(H1N1)
deaths have been reported for the last
three weeks, Director-General of Health
Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said.
The death toll remains at 77.
Two hundred and twenty-eight
patients with influenza-like illness (ILI)
were admitted to hospital for treat-
ment and 183 others were discharged
yesterday. – Bernama
Housewife hurt fleeing
condo fire
KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife who
fled a fire in her condominium yes-
terday fractured her right leg after
falling nine floors.
Karmila Lee Abdullah, in her 30s,
was in her apartment on level 14 of
Kondominium Mentari, Bandar Seri
Permaisuri here, when the fire broke
as prostitutes.
Hadi said the suspects had
amassed no less than RM2 million in
gains in a year.
He said police would invoke the
Anti-Money Laundering Act to freeze
their assets.
“We believe we have busted a
major human trafficking syndicate
and will look for others linked to it
such as runners and travel document
forgers. Human trafficking is a seri-
said after launching the Health Ministry
Management Convention 2009.
“The National Heart Institute and
private hospitals in the country are
recognised abroad and well-equipped
to serve patients.”
Liow said former International Trade
and Industry Ministry deputy secretary-
general Datuk Ooi Say Chuan had been
appointed the council’s chief executive
officer and was scheduled to start work
on Oct 16.
“That is when the other details of the
said the ministry would provide assist-
ance to Malaysians arrested overseas.
“We strongly advise Malaysians not
to commit crimes and to strictly abide
by the law,” he said.
Chong, who said most of the cases
involved young adults in their 20s, quoted
several recent cases, including that of
two males indebted to loan sharks, who
were arrested in Taiwan in January 2007
after being forced to smuggle ketamine
into the country.
Both received life sentences,
which were reduced to 10-year
out at about 11am.
She decided to escape by climb-
ing down the balcony. After reaching
level 12 she fell on the awning of a
balcony on level 3 when she failed
to grab the balcony railing.
Jung Hwan Oh, 30, a Korean who
owns the apartment, said he heard
a thud and screams coming from
the balcony and found Karmila there
writhing in pain. – Bernama
Charges against Yim
confusing: Counsel
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here
was told yesterday the three charges
preferred against Yim Pek Ha, who last
November was found guilty of having
abused her Indonesian maid Nirmala
Bonat in 2004, were confusing and
contradicted testimony provided by
the victim.
Lawyer Jagjit Singh, who is rep-
resenting Yim, also said the charges
theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 9 2009
ous issue and we are taking steps to
address it,” he said.
“We are working closely with
Australian police and this success
was a result of information they had
shared with us.”
Hadi also said a group of 10
Indonesian anti-human trafficking
unit police personnel had arrived
here on Wednesday for discussions
on working with local police to clamp
down on crime in the region.
council will be announced,” he said.
He said the health tourism industry
currently contributes RM300 million to
the economy, which the government
plans to increase to RM1 billion.
Liow said the government was
focused on offering quality health
services.
“The prime minister has sent out
teams to evaluate the key performance
index of ministries and departments,
so he is serious about offering good
services to the people,” he said.
Lee (left)
and Chong.
jail terms by the Taiwan government.
Another case involved a 23-year-old
woman who used a stolen credit card
to buy a luxury watch in Beirut on Sept
30.
The woman, believed to be indebted
to loan sharks, then sent a text message
to her mother, asking for RM15,000 to
settlem legal fees.
Chong also said the department had
established a fund in aid of victims of
the Padang earthquake. To make a
donation, call Marina Chong at 03-2161
5678.
against the 41-year-old housewife had
no basis because the prosecution failed
to prove when the abuse happened.
Yim is appealing against her convic-
tion and sentence by the sessions court,
which ordered her to serve an 18-month
jail sentence after finding her guilty of
having hurt Nirmala. – Bernama
MACC report on Kg
Buah Pala almost ready
PENANG: A report on an investiga-
tion to determine whether there
was misappropriation or abuse of
power in the sale of land on which
Kampung Buah Pala in Bukit Gelugor
sits is expected to be ready this
month.
The director of the Penang office
of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission, Latifah Md Yatim, said
the probe, conducted following a
complaint by the state government
in July, is in its final stage.