5 d. ago India overtakes Japan, Bali mulls bank check requirement: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. India overtakes Japan in economic size – while prosperity trails far behind India ushered in the new year with a symbolic triumph as its economy edged past Japan’s to become the world’s fourth largest by nominal gross domestic product. 2. Nearly 94% of Malaysians who...

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5 d. ago Singapore jails helper who slapped, hit and kicked elderly dementia patient

A domestic helper in Singapore abused a 90-year-old woman she was supposed to care for, including slapping her face and hitting her with a diaper. Some of the mistreatment occurred while the victim, who has moderate vascular dementia, was partially unclothed, as her helper, Nwe Nwe San, attempted to help her put on a diaper. Nwe Nwe San, a 49-year-old Myanmar national, was jailed for 52 weeks on Monday. She pleaded guilty through an interpreter to two counts of voluntarily causing hurt to a...

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5 d. ago Operation Santa Claus: the charity changing lives through swimming in Hong Kong

When Libby Alexander and Simon Holliday noticed that many domestic helpers and Hong Kong residents at local beaches could not swim, they decided to take action. They soon learned that despite Hong Kong being surrounded by water and having an abundance of pools, many residents did not have the opportunity to learn to swim. Swimming lessons are not mandatory, many schools lack pools and private classes are expensive. A 2014 survey by Baptist University found that 46.7 per cent of Hong Kong...

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8 d. ago Domestic helper gets 5 months’ jail in Hong Kong for abusing 11

A domestic helper has been sentenced to five months in jail for abusing an 11‑month‑old baby in her employer’s home in Hong Kong. Eastern Court on Friday heard the guilty plea of the 41-year-old helper, who admitted to ill-treating the baby at a flat in Happy Valley on November 11 last year. The defendant’s full name was concealed, and she was identified only as “AJB” in court proceedings. In mitigation, her lawyer said she was a first-time helper from the Philippines who had struggled to adapt...

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1 week ago 2 owners of Hong Kong eatery arrested for hiring 5 illegal workers in food factory

Hong Kong immigration authorities have broken up an operation in which two local restaurant owners hired illegal foreign workers at their food factory to supply products to their eatery and culinary fairs in the city. Pau Hiu-fung from the Immigration Department’s foreign domestic helpers investigation section said on Tuesday that two owners of a local Southeast Asian restaurant and five illegal workers they hired were arrested last Saturday. “Our investigations show that the food produced by...

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1 week ago Singapore’s elite schools spark debate; concern for domestic helpers: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Malaysia’s tourism minister urges warmer welcomes after ‘less than friendly’ complaints 2. Japan’s shoplifters hate a simple ‘hello’ more than cameras 3. Debate on Singapore’s elite schools flares as ex-student recalls ‘privileged’ years 4. Netflix-Warner deal sparks...

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1 week ago AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads you missed

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. ‘Stop subverting Venezuelan regime’: China urges US to release Maduro China has expressed “serious concern” over the US capture and forcible removal of the Venezuelan leader, calling on Washington to ensure the personal safety of Nicolas Maduro and his wife and “release them immediately”. 2. Why...

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1 week ago AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads

AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads  South China Morning Post

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2 w. ago Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

In March last year, Erica Cheong and her husband, Harris Zainol, welcomed their firstborn son, Isaac. Like many new Malaysian parents living and working in Kuala Lumpur, the couple found the transition to parenthood overwhelming. “We needed someone to help care for the baby, given that my parents are elderly and my in-laws work full time,” Cheong told This Week in Asia. After speaking to friends who have employed domestic helpers, the couple, both 35, decided that doing the same was their best...

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2 w. ago China’s diplomatic divide: red carpet for South Korea, cold shoulder for Japanese firms

As a diplomatic row sees Japanese company executives put visits to China on hold, Beijing is preparing to roll out the red carpet for South Korean business leaders accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on a state visit starting Sunday. The contrasting receptions highlight how geopolitics is reshaping corporate ties in East Asia. Analysts expect continued friction between Beijing and Tokyo in 2026 to accelerate Japanese efforts to de-risk from the Chinese market. Conversely, Beijing’s warming...

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2 w. ago ‘I cannot sleep soundly’: helper battles trauma, job insecurity after Hong Kong fire

Domestic helper Siti Zulaikho has only one word to describe her life after Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades turned everything upside down: “chaotic.” The 41-year-old Indonesian was among more than 200 domestic helpers living at Wang Fuk Court when the 43-hour blaze broke out on November 26, engulfing seven of the housing estate’s eight buildings and killing 161 people. Over the past month, she has relocated with her employers four times – first to a shelter, then to a hotel, and then to...

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3 w. ago Philippines’ struggle for Chinese tourists, flood aid remarks spark ire: 7 Asia highlights

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass For much of the past year, Asian exporters have been racing to stay ahead of a global tariff storm – re-routing shipments, reconfiguring supply chains and absorbing rising costs as the United States...

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3 w. ago Filipino helper killed in Hong Kong fire hailed as heroine as body flown home

The body of the Filipino domestic helper who died in Hong Kong’s deadly blaze last month has been repatriated to her home country, with a senior Philippine official hailing her as a heroine. Separately, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen pledged on Sunday to provide long-term support in stages for residents affected by the Wang Fuk Court fire through its dedicated fund, which has reached about HK$4 billion (US$514 million). According to Filipino Secretary for...

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