65 m. ago Hong Kong policeman gets community service order for defrauding credit union

A Hong Kong policeman has been sentenced to 220 hours of community service for defrauding the force’s credit union to secure HK$280,000 (US$35,675) in loans. Traffic officer Shum Sze-long, 45, returned to Fanling Court on Wednesday to receive sentencing for one count of fraud and another of attempted fraud for providing inaccurate and incomplete information to the Hong Kong Police Credit Union during two loan applications. The now-suspended officer, who pleaded guilty last month, understated his...

Events

75 m. ago US$900 million seized as China helps Malaysia dismantle Tedy Teow’s scam empire

Chinese and Malaysian police have seized over 3.8 billion ringgit (US$900 million) of assets – including yachts and property – from a syndicate alleged to have duped millions of people throughout the Asia-Pacific with promises of high-return investments. The Ponzi scheme, which operated mainly in Penang state, is believed to be linked to the MBI Group, started by Malaysian Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, who was extradited to China last year after hiding in Thailand. Seventeen people were arrested last...

Economics

2 h. ago Hong Kong’s top court dismisses domestic helper’s forced labour challenge

Hong Kong’s top court has dismissed a judicial review of a foreign domestic helper who argued police had failed to properly investigate her complaint against her employer due to the absence of specific legislation against forced labour. The Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday, in upholding a ruling last year by the Court of Appeal, found that the city’s lack of bespoke legislation for forced labour was not necessary to provide “practical and effective” protection of the Filipina helper’s...

Events

2 h. ago Hong Kong student spared jail for faking exam results via beauty app Meitu

A Hong Kong student has been spared prison time over her attempt to secure a university placement with bogus entrance exam results edited by Chinese beauty filter app Meitu, with the presiding magistrate accepting the crime was a lapse in judgment. Ng Tsz-ying, 22, was sentenced to a 12-month probation order at Fanling Court on Wednesday for submitting a fake copy of her certificate in the Diploma of Secondary Education examination to the Education University of Hong Kong last year. Last month,...

Events

3 h. ago Hong Kong court jails couple for life over abuse, murder of newborn son

A couple has been jailed for life in Hong Kong over what a judge called the “completely disgraceful” abuse and murder of their newborn son six years ago. The High Court on Wednesday sentenced Hong Kong residents Imran Hossain, 32, and Farzana Akter, 29, over the father and mother’s mistreatment and killing of their seven-week-old baby, Iyman Hossain, in 2019. A day earlier, a seven-member jury returned a unanimous verdict to convict the pair of murder and child cruelty in a case that hinged on...

Events

6 h. ago ‘Uncertainty has costs’: the Asian students rethinking US education plans

As a teenager in military-ruled Myanmar, Muang* viewed a US college degree as the ultimate escape – a passport to freedom, stability and a future unbound by the limits of a junta-run state. At 19, he made it. A full scholarship to one of America’s most prestigious universities marked the culmination of years of perseverance. But today, that hard-won dream feels precarious. “You grow up in a country where it’s a dictatorship and you don’t have any opportunities to build your own life,” Muang...

Politics

6 h. ago Top US envoy in Hong Kong may be headed for senior role in Beijing embassy

The top US diplomat in Hong Kong is likely to be heading north to take up a leading role in the United States’ Beijing embassy, the South China Morning Post has learned. Gregory May, who arrived to serve as the US consul general for Hong Kong and Macau in September 2022, is tipped to be a top candidate for a ministerial role in the US embassy in Beijing, according to sources. It is a critical time in the relationship as Beijing and Washington engage in a series of high-stakes talks to manage...

Politics

7 h. ago Mobile game advocating Hong Kong independence disappears from Apple’s App Store

A mobile game application banned for advocating Hong Kong and Taiwan independence can no longer be found on Apple’s App Store, according to checks by the Post, following its earlier removal from the Google Play Store. Reversed Front: Bonfire, a war-themed game developed by ESC Taiwan and launched in April, did not appear in search results on Wednesday, despite being available for download on the store the previous day. On Tuesday evening, Hong Kong police warned residents against downloading the...

Events

10 h. ago Japanese debate over US immigration raid protests and influx of foreigners

US President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of military personnel to Los Angeles in response to protesters rallying against his administration’s immigration raids has split public opinion in Japan, where debates have escalated in recent years over an influx of foreigners into the country. The protests in Los Angeles – now in their third day – have prompted Trump to order around 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines to the city. Clashes between both sides have led to rubber...

Events

10 h. ago In Japan, LA protests are dividing people as much as in the US. Here’s why

US President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of military personnel to Los Angeles in response to protesters rallying against his administration’s immigration raids has split public opinion in Japan, where debates have escalated in recent years over an influx of foreigners into the country. The protests in Los Angeles – now in their third day – have prompted Trump to order around 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines to the city. Clashes between both sides have led to rubber...

Events

11 h. ago ‘Making a dent’: race is on to reap rare earths elsewhere amid China’s dominance

Beijing’s imposition of rare earth export restrictions from April – playing its trump card in the face of Washington’s intensifying tariffs and tech curbs – helped send a message to Washington ahead of this week’s discussions over bilateral export-control issues. Considered a trump card because rare earths have an outsized impact on auto, electronics and defence industries, and China dominates the supply chain, the trade in such critical minerals is widely expected to be among the key topics...

Politics

12 h. ago As the PLA adopts civilian technology, Chinese bureaucracy could hinder progress

For decades, China’s talk of letting the private sector bid for defence orders had mostly been just that: talk. State-owned conglomerates had dominated the sector for decades, but in the middle of 2016, Beijing started to step up its military-civilian fusion strategy, publishing an official list of the sectors where private firms were being encouraged to contribute, such as swarming drone technologies. The plan is a central pillar of China’s ambition to develop a modernised military by 2035 and...

Politics

15 h. ago China Deploys 2 Aircraft Carriers to Western Pacific for the First Time

China Deploys 2 Aircraft Carriers to Western Pacific for the First Time  USNI News

Transport

17 h. ago In China, fears grow of an EV financial crisis amid pricing war

In China, fears grow of an EV financial crisis amid pricing war  CNBC

Events

18 h. ago Stocks Rise Amid Trade Talks Before Treasury Sale: Markets Wrap

Stocks Rise Amid Trade Talks Before Treasury Sale: Markets Wrap  Bloomberg

Economics

18 h. ago AstraZeneca bosses ‘turning a blind eye’ to Beijing, say critics

AstraZeneca bosses ‘turning a blind eye’ to Beijing, say critics  The Times

Politics

23 h. ago Hongkongers warned not to download mobile game ‘promoting secessionist agenda’

Hong Kong police have warned residents against downloading a mobile game application advocating Hong Kong and Taiwanese independence or risk breaking national security laws. The force also said on Tuesday that action had been taken under the Beijing-imposed national security law to allow police to require the relevant electronic platforms to remove access to the game Reversed Front: Bonfire, which was developed by ESC Taiwan and released in April. Individuals who downloaded the app could be...

Events

23 h. ago Hong Kong court convicts couple of child cruelty, murdering newborn son

A Hong Kong court has convicted a couple for murdering their newborn son after rejecting their assertions that the infant’s head trauma and rib fractures could have been inflicted by his brother out of jealousy. A High Court jury comprising three men and four women returned a unanimous verdict on Tuesday to convict Imran Hossain, 32, and his wife Farzana Akter, 29, for murdering their seven-week-old baby, Iyman Hossain, in 2019. The unemployed couple were also found guilty of child cruelty for...

Events

24 h. ago China’s solar panel makers seek antidote to market ills as glut, price war, tariffs bite

China’s solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers are looking for solutions to years of price wars and losses at home amid excess capacity and waning demand as executives gathered in Shanghai to discuss the problems crippling the industry. They will get a chance to gauge the crisis as the financial hub plays host to the SNEC PV+ Photovoltaic Power Conference and Exhibition from Tuesday to Friday. The conference is the largest of its kind, attracting some 3,000 enterprises from more than 100...

Economics

24 h. ago Thailand’s Pattaya deploys AI drones as cries grow to tackle rising crime

A city in Thailand plans to deploy AI-powered police drones to hunt down criminals and visa overstayers amid growing concerns over public safety. Authorities in Pattaya want to link the drones to a centralised AI database so they can scan faces in crowds and pick out individuals with outstanding arrest warrants or expired visas, according to local media outlet The Thaiger. The drones will be used during large-scale local events and in tourist hotspots to monitor activities and respond to...

Events