Vietnamese couple seized for sex trafficking

Police in Ho Chi Minh City Friday arrested a couple for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring which sent seven Vietnamese women to Malaysia.

Vo Thi Thanh Thuy, 29, was caught receiving money from the families of two of her victims in exchange for their freedom on Monday, police said. Her boyfriend, 29-year-old Ngo Trong Hieu, present at the time, was also arrested.
According to police, they set up a sting operation following tip-offs from the families of two victims whose identities were not revealed, but have now returned to Vietnam.
Initial reports claim that when working as a masseuse at the Star Robin Spa Hotel in Malaysia between March and September last year, Thuy entered into an agreement with the hotel’s owner to provide Vietnamese women to be sex workers there.
After coming back to Vietnam, Thuy, together with Hieu, sought for women who were looking for a job and convinced them to travel to Malaysia. Police said since Thuy was illiterate, Hieu facilitated the transactions and processed the paperwork.
A report on local news website Vietnamnet Friday said Thuy told the two freed victims that a Malaysian acquaintance of hers was recruiting supermarket employees and that those hired would earn a monthly salary of no less than US$1,000.
After the women accepted the offer, she spent a total of nearly VND40 million ($1,900) buying clothes and taking care of all procedures required for them to fly to Malaysia, the news site said. Their families also received VND6 million ($285) each from Thuy.
However, when they arrived in Malaysia, the women were sent to the hotel to work as prostitutes.
According to Vietnamnet, the women served more than ten customers per day for 200 Ringit ($63.5), but only received 30 percent, while the remainder went to Thuy and hotel managers. It said Thuy asked the women to text her after each encounter to ensure she was not being cheated by the managers.
The victims later asked Thuy to let them go home, but she said they would only be released after their families paid her VND48 million ($2,200) each, police said.
Thuy even threatened to kill the trafficked women to force their families to pay her, according to police.
The case is being investigated further, while five other victims remain in Malaysia.

By Dam Huy, Thanh Nien News  

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society,Vietnam

North Korea airs 'birthday' documentary of new leader

North Korea has marked what is reported to be the birthday of its new leader, Kim Jong-un, with a documentary aired on state television.



Clips from the documentary showing North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un



The film shows him in his new role as supreme military commander - inspecting troops, saluting and sitting in a tank.

It also confirms that he was being groomed for the role from 2009, showing footage of him from that time watching a rocket launch with his father.

Kim Jong-un's age is not known but he is believed to be in his late 20s.

The death of Kim Jong-il on 17 December left the threat of a dangerous vacuum in a society raised to venerate one supreme leader, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul.

Less than a month on, North Korea's unique media machine is already working to fill it, she adds.

'Military brilliance'

The documentary, aired on state television, shows Kim Jong-un manoeuvring a tank, watching jet fighter and firing exercises and posing for photographs with soldiers.

It also shows him with his father shaking hands with officials at a satellite control centre after scientists launched a rocket in April 2009.

"I had decided to wage a real war if the enemies shot down" the rocket, he is quoted as saying.

The film also shows him visiting factories, talking to officials and inspecting their work - all the things his father used to do.

Websites linked to the North Korean government have already begun describing the new leader as having the wisdom of great men, extraordinary competence and military brilliance, our correspondent says.

Kim Jong-un was named "supreme leader of the party, state and army" following the death of his father.

He has already pledged to continue with Kim Jong-il's "military first" policies.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Korea,nuclear,Politics

Bomb explodes in Vietnamese police chief’s house, no one hurt

A suspected bomb explosion badly damaged the first floor of a senior police official's house in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on Saturday, but no one was hurt, according to local reports.

At around 2 a.m., a huge sound coming from the house of Colonel Nguyen Nhu Tuan, director of Thai Nguyen Province Police Department, shook the residential area on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street in Thai Nguyen City.

Reisdents rushed out of their houses and saw thick dust in the air.

The front door and the first floor of Tuan’s house were totally damaged. All the glass windows of the house and that of a dozen nearby houses were broken.

A computer store next to Tuan’s house also had its collapsing gate damaged.

Tuan, his wife and two children were sleeping on the second floor at the time of the explosion, so no one was injured.

Tuan was assigned to be provincial police chief just several months ago. He has taken tough measures to crackdown on crimes and gangsters, police said.

Several minutes after the explosion, many police cars with hundreds of officers arrived at the scene.

Police said the explosion could have been caused by a bomb, probably placed by someone who wanted to take revenge on Tuan.

By Thai Uyen, Thanh Nien News

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Posted in: Asia,Society,Vietnam

Tuoi Tre initiates traditional Tet program

 Enjoy the festive atmosphere and celebrate your Tet with the following columns and contests:

* Vietnamese Tet Spirit: presenting articles on Vietnamese customs, countryside festivities, and the homesickness of overseas Vietnamese during Tet.

* Tet Manual: providing Tet food recipes, house decoration techniques, and fashion and beauty care tips.

* Vietnamese Talent: publishing stories about Vietnamese people and local handicraft villages.

* Spring Journeys: reporting on places of interest the world over

* Green Tet: featuring stories of environmental protection and eco-friendly Tet celebrations

* Six online competitions with many attractive prizes:



The logo of Eximbank, or the Vietnam Export Import Bank which is the main sponsor of the "Online with Vietnamese Tet" program

- Spring Color Photo Contest: a long-standing competition that has been lauded by many photographers, both amateur and professional. Participate to win prizes worth VND46 million in the 2012 contest that will take place at tuoitre.vn and m.tuoitre.vn.

- I love Vietnamese Tet: a video contest that brings young Vietnamese a chance to show off their filming and script-writing skills and win prizes worth VND39 million by submitting video clips of Tet-related activities.

- My Tet Writing Contest: where readers can write about their unforgettable memories and feelings during Tet to win awards amounting to VND35 million.

- First-footing Game: for those who want to have some luck in the Lunar New Year. The game will be available for 20 minutes and 12 seconds only at tuoitre.vn and m.tuoitre.vn. Join it to win VND30 million lucky money – or lì xì in Vietnamese.

- My Tet Journey: this contest is dedicated to young Vietnamese people who are good at English, and foreigners as well. This is a brand new part of the newspaper’s traditional program.

- Spring Crossword: readers can brush up on their knowledge of Tet and Tuoi Tre newspaper and its reader-focused activities during the past year in this section.

Further details of the program will be published in Tuoi Tre's print edition and on its online publications Tuoi Tre Online, Tuoi Tre Mobile, and Tuoitrenews in the coming days.

Source Tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society,Tet,Vietnam

Malaysia court finds Anwar Ibrahim not guilty of sodomy

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been acquitted of sodomy after a two-year trial.


Anwar Ibrahim said justice had been served by the court in Kuala Lumpur



Judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah said DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable and discharged the case.

Mr Anwar, 64, has consistently denied the charges and called them a government bid to cripple his political ambitions and influence.

The government said the verdict showed Malaysia's judiciary was free from government influence.

Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia but, says the BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur, very few people are ever prosecuted.

Mr Anwar had been accused of having sex with a former male aide. He had faced up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

But the judge said that there were questions over whether DNA evidence had been contaminated.

"The court is always reluctant to convict on sexual offences without corroborative evidence. Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged," the judge said.

TIMELINE: ANWAR IBRAHIM

• 1993 to 1998 - Deputy Prime Minister, under Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad

• 1999 - Jailed for abuse of power, sparking huge street protests

• 2000 - Found guilty of sodomy with his wife's driver

• 2004 - Supreme Court overturns the sodomy conviction, freeing him from jail. He quickly emerges as the de facto opposition leader

• March 2008 - ruling coalition narrowly wins general election, but with its worst results in 50 years. The opposition makes unprecedented gains

• Aug 2008 - Anwar charged with sodomy for a second time, but despite this is soon voted in as an MP

• Feb 2009 - Second trial for sodomy starts

• Jan 2012 - Acquitted of sodomy by High Court

Mr Anwar told journalists outside the courtroom: "Thank God justice has prevailed I have been vindicated.

"To be honest, I am a little surprised."

Information Minister Rais Yatim said that the verdict showed that judges were free to rule as they saw fit.

"Malaysia has an independent judiciary," he said. "The current wave of bold democratic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak will help extend this transparency to all areas of Malaysian life."

The allegations against Mr Anwar surfaced just months after elections in 2008, in which he led the opposition to unprecedented gains at the expense of the ruling party.

This verdict comes ahead of elections widely expected later this year.

Hundreds of police and security personnel were on the streets of Kuala Lumpur ahead of the verdict, and thousands of Mr Anwar's supporters waited outside the court.

Mr Anwar was once Malaysia's deputy prime minister and an ally of former leader Mahathir Mohammad.

But he fell out with Mr Mahathir and was later jailed for corruption and sodomy. The sodomy conviction was later overturned and he was freed in 2004 after spending six years in prison.

He is now seen as the key figure in Malaysia's opposition coalition, which currently controls about a third of the seats in parliament.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Politics,Society

Anti-corruption journalist Hoang Khuong arrested

Journalist Hoang Khuong smiled while police were searching his house

Police in Ho Chi Minh City Monday noon arrested Tuoi Tre newspaper’s journalist Hoang Khuong on charges he indirectly gave bribes to a police officer. Mr. Khuong is a prize-winning journalist famous for exposé articles into police corruption.


The receiver of the bribe is Huynh Minh Duc, former traffic officer in Binh Thanh District who had been arrested earlier.

The police also searched Mr. Khuong’s house and work office.

Traffic police officer Huynh Minh Duc captured receiving bribes. This photo was shot by  journalist Hoang Khuong

Mr. Khuong will be detained for four months pending investigation

According to the police, 37-year-old Nguyen Van Khuong (the journalist’s real name) was indicted since he, through Ton That Hoa, gave VND15 million (US$713) to former police cop Duc in exchange for Duc’s help in releasing a motorbike that had been impounded in a traffic violation case.

Ton That Hoa is director of Duy Nguyen Private Enterprise and has been detained for brokering the bribe.

In early 2011, amidst the serious traffic violation situation causing concerns among the public, Tuoi Tre newspaper’s Editorial Board, in line with the Government’s orientation, published a series of articles on the topic “preventing traffic accidents.”

Many of Tuoi Tre’s reporters and contributors wrote a number of articles under the topic to show the traffic reality and possible solutions to reduce traffic accidents.

Hoang Khuong also wrote many investigative articles, including "F..k you, pay the road bribes", "Where road accidents are settled off the records" and "Traffic cop takes bribe to return bike,” which were  published on Tuoi Tre’s Vietnamese-language daily newspaper.

As shown in the latter article, the Binh Thanh district police, during their crack-down on a large scale illegal motorbike race in April 2011, temporarily impounded the motorbike of Tran Van Hoa, a young man who had ridden the vehicle in dangerous manner.

At that time, Ton That Hoa suggested Duc help release the motorbike of Tran Van Hoa and Duc agreed.

The then traffic police officer Duc later received the VND15 million bribe and returned the bike to Tran Van Hoa.

On November 28, the HCMC investigation police requested Tuoi Tre and the Press Department “to review the case and revoke the press card of reporter Nguyen Van Khuong”.
According to Khuong’s report to the Editorial Board, he had committed “professional shortcomings” when he was involved in indirectly giving the bribe money to Duc.

After reviewing Khuong’s acts, Tuoi Tre Editorial Board has given him a reprimand and suspended him.

The Editorial Board and Khuong’s family have invited lawyer Phan Trung Hoai, head of the Phan Trung Hoai Law Office, and lawyer Phan Duc Linh, of the HCMC Bar Association, to defend Khuong’s rights and interests.

Lawyer Hoai was at the scene when police searched Khuong’ house.
In 2010, Mr. Khuong won second prize at the city Press Award for an article about bribery at customs checkpoints.

Source Tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

William Hague: Burma to free more 'political prisoners'

Burma has vowed to free more political prisoners, William Hague said after meeting his counterpart during the first visit to Burma by a UK foreign secretary for 55 years.

Wunna Maung Lwi also promised that changes in Burma were "irreversible".
But he later did not use the word political when referring to prisoners.

William Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Burma since 1955

Mr Hague's visit is the latest by top world diplomats after Burma's first elections in 20 years which brought in a nominally civilian government.
Since then the new administration has freed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and begun a process of dialogue.
Last month she formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party, after boycotting the 2010 polls because of electoral laws that prevented her taking part.
In December US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma, in what was seen as an endorsement of the reform process - although Western observers say much more is needed.
Stress on development Mr Hague is the first British foreign secretary to visit Burma since 1955.
In the capital Nay Pyi Taw he was due to hold talks with President Thein Sein, a former top general who stepped down to contest the polls as a civilian, and a host of other top officials.
He will then travel to Rangoon, Burma's commercial capital, to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, representatives of some of Burma's ethnic minority groups and dissidents.
Ms Suu Kyi's party plans to contest by-elections in April that could see her elected to parliament. Her party secured a landslide victory in polls in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.
William Hague made the comments after meeting his counterpart in Nay Pyi Taw.

Analysis

Rachel Harvey BBC News, Rangoon

William Hague is the latest in a series of high-profile diplomats to seek to engage the new government in Burma and to try to bolster nascent signs of reform.
Western officials have been encouraged by recent changes, including legalising trade unions, lifting some media restrictions and a limited release of political prisoners.
But there are still grave concerns about Burma's human rights record and the fact that several hundred political detainees remain behind bars.
The different messages by the two senior diplomats after their talks in Nay Pyi Taw may be due to the different audiences they were addressing.

"The foreign minister has reaffirmed commitments that have been made to release political prisoners," he told reporters.

"He said the changes are irreversible and I welcome that way of thinking," Mr Hague added.
"I stressed that the world will judge the government by its actions."
But in an interview with the BBC Burmese service later, Wunna Maung Lwi said Burma did not acknowledge there were political prisoners.
They are all criminals, he said, and it was up to the president to decide when prisoners were released - adding that prisoners had already been freed on three recent occasions.
The government, he said, was focused on the development of the whole country.
Between 600 and 1,000 journalists, dissidents and monks who led anti-government protests in 2007 are thought to remain behind bars in Burma.
There is now a general acceptance that change is under way in Burma, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Rangoon, but it is not clear how far or how fast any transition will be.
And the different account of the talks by the two senior diplomats may merely be explained by the different audiences they were addressing, says our correspondent.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Politics

Top China airlines to ignore EU carbon tax, body says

China is one of the world's fastest growing airline markets

China's biggest airlines will not pay a new European Union tax aimed at cutting carbon emissions, their trade body has said.

On 1 January, the EU brought airlines under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which levies a charge on flights based on their carbon emissions.
The tax has been criticised by China, India, the US and Canada.
Chai Haibo of the China Air Transport Association said that its members would not cooperate with the ETS.
The China Air Transport Association (CATA) represents companies including Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines.
Airlines which do not comply with the new EU tax can be fined and even prohibited from flying into the region.
Last year, it was claimed the plan could cost Chinese airlines 95m euros ($124m, £79m) in extra annual costs.
"The CATA, on behalf of Chinese airlines, is strongly against the EU's improper practice of unilaterally forcing international airlines into its ETS," Mr Chai said on Thursday.
China has warned that it may implement retaliatory measures against the levy.
Other nations have also been fighting the plans.
In December, the US lost its attempt to have the issue of the new airline tax blocked by the European Court of Justice.
The US had argued that its carriers were set to lose out heavily, and that the charges violate climate change and aviation pacts.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Business,China,European