11 h. ago Malaysian cook’s toddler abuse at Singapore preschool covered up by staff who deleted CCTV

Three former members of a Singapore preschool’s senior management admitted on Friday to covering up the offences of a cook who molested toddlers at the preschool where they all worked. The cook, 61-year-old Teo Guan Huat, had molested three toddlers during naptime over seven months in 2023. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than nine years’ jail last month. The three members of senior management were the 59-year-old executive director, 61-year-old principal and 49-year-old...

Events

13 h. ago Singapore cracks down on scammers with mandatory caning as fraud cases surge

Singapore’s government said on Friday that scammers will face mandatory caning of up to 24 strokes from December 30, under changes to criminal law to deter surging fraud cases. The changes, passed by parliament last month, strengthen penalties that already include imprisonment and fines. The Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishment “ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges”. Under the changes, scammers, including recruiters and members...

Politics

41 h. ago China's Momenta teams up with Grab on autonomous driving in Southeast Asia

China's Momenta teams up with Grab on autonomous driving in Southeast Asia  Reuters

Politics

44 h. ago Singapore fines man US$9,300 over vaping videos in deepening crackdown

A 25-year-old man was fined S$12,000 (US$9,300) on Wednesday for posting social media videos and photos of himself holding or using e-vaporisers in Singapore. The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said this is the first time it has prosecuted someone for posting images of himself vaping on social media. Krish Khalifa, who uses the account name “Rapperboya”, had posted several of these videos and photos on his YouTube, Instagram and TikTok channels between November 2023 and September 2024. He was...

Politics

48 h. ago Bondi Beach attack: Philippines rejects ‘outdated’ violent extremism portrayal

There is no evidence indicating that the two suspects involved in the Bondi Beach attack received any form of military training while in the Philippines, the Philippines’ National Security Adviser said on Wednesday. In a statement, Eduardo Ano said that a mere visit to the country does not substantiate allegations of terrorist training, and the duration of their stay would not have permitted any meaningful or structured training. The alleged father-and-son gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah...

Events

49 h. ago Southeast Asia follows Australia in tightening social media rules: safety or censorship?

As Australia’s new restrictions on social media use by children under 16 take effect this month, governments across Southeast Asia are rolling out or weighing their own measures aimed at protecting young users online. From platform licensing rules in Malaysia to age-based access limits in Indonesia, the moves reflect a broader global push to rein in tech companies over child safety, cyberbullying and harmful content. But analysts say such policies can also open the door to wider regulatory...

Politics

68 h. ago Malaysian religious authorities clear woman of ‘2 husbands’ allegations

A woman from Tanah Merah, Malaysia’s Kelantan state, who was alleged to have two husbands, had in fact divorced her first spouse in June 2022, Kosmo reported. Kelantan Islamic Development, Da’wah (proselytising), Information and Public Relations Committee chairman Mohd Asri Mat Daud said both the 30-year-old woman and her ex-husband confirmed the divorce. He said the verification was made after both parties appeared to clarify their marital status with the Kelantan Islamic Religious Affairs...

Culture

3 d. ago Singapore court dismisses challenge to mandatory death penalty for drug crimes

Singapore’s High Court dismissed on Tuesday the first legal challenge in years to the city state’s mandatory death penalty for certain drug crimes, a blow for campaigners in a year that has seen executions peak. Human rights activists and relatives of three executed drug convicts had petitioned the court, arguing that the mandatory death penalty violates parts of Singapore’s constitution guaranteeing the right to life and equal protection under the law. They also said legislation restricts...

Events

3 d. ago Abandoned baby reveals incest case involving teen siblings in Malaysia

The discovery of a Malaysian baby boy left behind a house in Kampung Alor Lintang, Terengganu state’s Kampung Raja on Sunday has revealed a case of incest involving a teenage girl and her younger brother, Sinar Harian reported. Acting Besut police chief Deputy Superintendent Md Sani Md Saleh told the Malay-language daily that investigations found the baby was the result of an illicit relationship involving the 16-year-old girl and was born in secret. “Shortly after birth, the baby was reportedly...

Politics

3 d. ago In Vietnam’s villages, cancer stalks recyclers who do ‘extremely dirty’ job

Crouched between mountains of discarded plastic, Lanh strips the labels off bottles of Coke, Evian and local Vietnamese tea drinks so they can be melted into tiny pellets for reuse. More waste arrives daily, piling up like technicolour snowdrifts along the roads and rivers of Xa Cau, one of hundreds of “craft” recycling villages encircling Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, where waste is sorted, shredded and melted. The villages present a paradox: they enable reuse of some of the 1.8 million tonnes of...

Science

4 d. ago Capital Exodus Accelerates as Production Lines Ditch Beijing for Southeast Asia

Capital Exodus Accelerates as Production Lines Ditch Beijing for Southeast Asia  Vision Times

Politics

4 d. ago Indonesia to revoke 22 forestry permits after floods that killed over 1,000 people

Indonesia will revoke more than 20 forestry permits across the country, the forestry minister said on Monday, after deadly floods and landslides devastated parts of the northwestern island of Sumatra. Environmentalists and experts have pointed to the role forest loss played in flash flooding and landslides that this month killed more than 1,000 people and washed torrents of mud into villages. The government will revoke 22 forestry permits that encompass more than one million hectares of land,...

Events

4 d. ago Thailand bombs Siem Reap province, home of ancient Angkor Wat temple, says Cambodia

Cambodia accused Thailand on Monday of striking deep inside its territory, bombing areas less than a two-hour drive from the country’s main tourist draw, the centuries-old Angkor temples, in a reignited border conflict. Dozens of people were killed in five days of fighting in July before a truce was brokered and then broken within months, part of a long-standing conflict rooted in the colonial-era demarcation of the countries’ 800km (500 miles) frontier. Renewed fighting between the Southeast...

Events

4 d. ago Malaysia to get back US$30 million worth of fine art linked to 1MDB scandal

Malaysia is set to receive 12 pieces of fine art – including works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Henri Matisse – after discussions with US officials to repatriate assets tied to the global corruption scandal at 1MDB. The works are being held by Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses in the United States and estimated to have a combined value of over US$30 million, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said in a statement on Saturday. They were purchased by Jasmine Loo, a former...

Economics

5 d. ago Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk

As the holiday season approaches in the United States, the rush for Christmas gifts is straining manufacturers thousands of kilometres away in Southeast Asia, where supply chain shocks triggered by US tariffs are hitting exports of everything from mittens and headphones to toys. Manufacturers have spent much of the past year trying to adapt to the tariffs, which have driven up production and logistics costs while also disrupting delivery schedules. Now, the seasonal demand spike has only served...

Politics

5 d. ago Southeast Asia barely features in America’s new security strategy

Washington’s latest national security blueprint may be one of its most consequential in years, yet it barely mentions Southeast Asia. Analysts say that absence speaks volumes, signalling a narrowing of American priorities that risks turning the region into a “bargaining chip” in the US-China rivalry. The National Security Strategy published by the White House on December 4 presents the Trump administration’s vision for restoring “American economic independence”, alongside preventing conflict in...

Events

6 d. ago Deported porn star Bonnie Blue mocks Bali arrest: ‘did you think I’d face jail time?’

Bonnie Blue, the former OnlyFans star who made headlines for claiming to have slept with more than 1,000 men in just 12 hours, is back in her native UK after being deported from Indonesia, where she was arrested in Bali for allegedly violating “morality” laws. Upon returning to England on Saturday, the 26-year-old adult content creator addressed the controversy in a press release sent to the media. She said it cost her less than “US$20 to get out of prison” in Indonesia, and joked that she...

Events

6 d. ago Indonesia flood death toll passes 1,000, over 200 still missing

Devastating floods and landslides have killed 1,003 people in Indonesia, rescuers said on Saturday as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with relief efforts. The disaster, which has hit the northwestern island of Sumatra over the past fortnight, has also injured more than 5,400, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in its latest toll. The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra, where a tsunami wreaked havoc in 2004 in Aceh province, which lies at...

Events

6 d. ago Singapore’s Pritam Singh, Mediacorp apologise over court contempt in CNA interview

Singapore’s opposition leader Pritam Singh has apologised to the court for statements he made on a CNA programme while CNA’s parent company, Mediacorp, also issued an apology and took down the interview. “I accept that my statements may be construed to be in contempt of court, including to impugn the integrity, propriety or impartiality of the court,” Singh wrote on social media on Saturday. “Given that, I wholly and unreservedly apologise to the court and will avoid making comments to the same...

Events

7 d. ago Southeast Asia’s rich buy sky garages while the middle class lose their homes

Daniel Ho’s clients want the best money can buy: branded residences and glass-wrapped penthouses complete with panoramic views and high-rise parking spots fit for supercars in the elite enclaves of Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. A world away, or so it seems, mid-level asset manager Charoen Kijvekin sees a very different reality playing out. His clients are debt-stricken Thais trying to claw back repossessed homes from auction and families on the bottom rung of the property ladder...

Politics