SINGAPORE: Teenagers were among 10 people arrested for their suspected involvement in a recent spate of banking-related malware scams targeting Android users. The youngest suspect nabbed during a two-week police operation is 16 years old. Others who were arrested are aged between 18 and 43, said the police in a media release on SaturdayContinue Reading
Young woman on verge of transferring B3-million ‘ransom’ from mother to call centre gang
PUBLISHED : 12 Aug 2023 at 17:31
A university student in Lat Krabang district of Bangkok was nearly deceived into transferring 3 million baht from her mother to a scam call centre, becoming the latest victim of a new scam in which fraudsters convince young adults that they have been kidnapped.
Police came to the rescue of the student, using the pseudonym Ae, after she was led to believe that she was wanted by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) for alleged involvement in the narcotics trade.
The victim recounted to authorities that she had received a phone call on Friday from an individual claiming to be from the office, accusing her of receiving contraband via the mail.
After the caller advised the student to file a complaint to counter the accusation, she was instructed to coordinate with a local police officer to prove her innocence.
Upon contacting the alleged officer, Ae was informed that she was linked to money-laundering operations related to the drug trade and was urged to check into a hotel near her university.
Once in the hotel room, Ae disclosed her family details to the scam call centre. She was then told to contact her mother and falsely claim that she had been kidnapped, and that her captors wanted a ransom of 3 million baht.
The fraudsters even requested access to her social media accounts to maintain correspondence with her mother, posing as kidnappers.
Fortunately, the victim’s father sought help from authorities, who successfully traced Ae to the hotel room.
The initial investigation has led to the identification of the callers in Cambodia.
Police this week issued a warning about this type of scam, in which gangs manipulate students into sending fabricated abduction video clips of themselves. The videos are then used to extort money from their parents. The main targets are university students living alone in apartments, say police.
SEOUL: Hundreds of South Korean activists gathered in central Seoul on Saturday (Aug 12) to protest against Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily reported earlier this week that the country plans to start releasing theContinue Reading
In southwestern Guangxi on Friday, heavy rainfall in the city of Nanning led to urban flooding, forcing rush hour commuters to drive vehicles and motorcycles through waterlogged roads, CCTV said. Local authorities set up cordons to allow drainage work on some roads, while the city dispatched nearly 3,900 police toContinue Reading
Bangkok representative says he was protecting a woman who was being harassed
PUBLISHED : 12 Aug 2023 at 14:51
A Move Forward Party (MFP) MP has accepted blame following a physical altercation at a Bangkok restaurant on Friday night, but says he was defending a woman who was being harassed.
Video widely viewed on social media showed Chorayuth “Tonkla” Chaturapornprasit engaging in a confrontation with another man at the eatery in the Ekamai area.
The MP for Bang Kholaem-Yannawa MP is seen stepping in to intervene as the man began to harass a woman. The harasser had invaded her personal space and even placed his hand around her neck.
Mr Chorayuth can be seen brushing the man’s arm away from the woman, speaking to him and then being struck by him before the situation escalated.
Move Forward spokesman Karoonpon Tieansuwan said on Saturday that the other man had previously harassed Mr Chorayuth’s friends and had slapped another person in the face before turning his attention to the MP.
Mr Karoonpon said the man slipped and fell on his own during the subsequent altercation, and was already targeting Mr Chorayuth’s group before their bodyguards and restaurant staff intervened.
Both parties involved have agreed not to pursue further action.
Mr Chorayuth said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he would accept any blame and apologised to the public. Nonetheless, the MP insisted that he was merely protecting the woman seen in the video and did not initiate the fight.
While regretting his use of violence and calling the incident an important life lesson, the MP said some news outlets had covered the story without contacting him, presenting a misleading version of the incident.
He thanked those outlets that had taken his statement and asked those that had not yet done so to contact him for clarification.
Move Forward MP Chorayuth “Tonkla” Chaturapornprasit said the Friday incident was an important life lesson for him. (Photo: Facebook)
Japan plans to turn transport aircraft into ad-hoc missile carriers operating from austere and remote airstrips and using a system with significant tactical, operational and strategic implications for conventional and nuclear deterrence vis-à-vis China and North Korea.
The Warzone reported this month that the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MOD) is looking to arm its Kawasaki C-2 transport jets with air-launched missiles to potentially attack enemy bases including missile launch sites in counterstrike operations.
Although the report did not indicate the type of missiles that may be deployed to its C-2 jets, of which it has 13 in active service, it did mention that the MOD seeks to use missiles that are dropped before their engine starts. That, the report said, would not require significant modifications to Japan’s existing aircraft.
The Warzone report notes that the US is developing related technology known as the Rapid Dragon air-launched palletized munition concept, which was first tested in 2021. The report says that Japan may use Rapid Dragon or a similar domestically-developed system aboard its C-130 cargo planes, of which it has 14 units.
Japan may have multiple payload options for a domestically-made palletized munition system. Asia Times reported in June 2023 that Japan is developing an “island defense anti-ship missile” featuring modular warheads and a stealthy turbofan-powered design with a purported 2,000-kilometer range. The missile may contain land attack, electronic warfare (EW) and reconnaissance warheads.
Firing multiple types of missiles from a palletized munition can significantly improve accuracy. Reconnaissance missiles equipped with a high-resolution camera can spot the enemy, follow up with an EW missile to eliminate enemy radar and other sensors, and then deliver a missile with a high-explosive warhead for a lethal strike.
AIN says that palletized munition systems can solve the platform compatibility, availability and capacity issues of air-launched cruise missiles, such as the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), which were designed to be fired from fighters or bombers.
AIN also notes that most Western fighter designs are limited to two JASSM missiles, which may be sufficient for the US as it operates several bombers but may be an issue for its allies with none.
AIN also notes that Rapid Dragon enables the US to conduct long-range strikes without fighters or bombers. It describes the system as a palletized munition with 6 JASSMs for C-130s or 9 JASSMs for the C-17.
It also states that Rapid Dragon is designed for roll-on roll-off for rapid fielding, requiring no modifications to the launch aircraft since targeting data is programmed into the individual missiles using a laptop.
In deploying Rapid Dragon, AIN notes that a target is selected, a strike request is made and routing and retargeting coordinates are confirmed or updated. Operators follow standard airdrop procedures once the launching package deploys, with the multiple JASSMs stabilized under the parachute and systematically released to fly to the target.
AIN says that Rapid Dragon allows air forces to saturate an area with multiple weapons and effects, complicate adversary targeting solutions, help open access for critical target prosecution and deplete an adversary’s air defense munitions stockpile.
It also notes that palletized munitions can be an area-denial weapon and enable new concepts of operations, making it a key asset for US allies when aircraft availability may be limited.
However, basing issues may hobble the deployment of palletized munitions systems. In a December 2022 article for Insider, Christopher Woods notes that expanding the number of planes and bases involved in long-range strikes brings logistical challenges, especially in the vast Pacific where bases are scarce and often rudimentary.
Woods argues that these logistical issues will adversely affect the deployment of palletized munitions. He says, in particular, that weapons storage would be a significant concern, noting that how palletized munitions are stored would inevitably affect how effectively they can be used.
In a November 2019 article for Air & Space Forces Magazine, Rachel Cohen says that there would be high demand for cargo aircraft in their primary roles during a major regional conflict, stating that it wouldn’t make sense to allocate them for strikes instead of using them to deploy forces into areas of operation. It would also be difficult and costly to modify commercial-derivative aircraft to carry and safely eject many weapons, she says.
George Moore notes in an August 2023 article for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists that Rapid Dragon can also be developed into a nuclear delivery system, including for the nuclear-capable AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). That, he argues, could potentially turn every cargo aircraft into a nuclear weapons delivery system.
Moore notes that there is no plausible way to negotiate limitations on cargo aircraft with rear ramps that could deliver nuclear weapons. He notes that a palletized munition nuclear delivery system would require little or no training for pilots, which may prove to be superior to NATO’s nuclear-sharing model of pre-positioned nuclear weapons.
Moore also notes the challenges posed by a palletized munition nuclear delivery system to survival and deterrence concepts, noting that an aggressor may find it challenging to locate enough of the weapons and launch vehicles to ensure the success of a first strike.
He says that while the detection of cargo aircraft may be easier than combat aircraft, the former may be challenging to detect and engage if they fly at very low altitudes.
Moore also notes that US adversaries may come up with their own palletized munitions, forcing a total rethink of US concepts for using conventional deterrence and posing the question of how a US carrier battlegroup would respond to threats much further from an enemy’s shore.
He also mentions that cargo aircraft have far longer ranges than many combat aircraft fielded by US near-peer adversaries, which could expand the threat envelope posed by a hostile state.
Speaking to reporters outside the school after casting his ballot papers, Mr Anwar urged residents across the six states to come down and vote as early as possible. “Based on what we have seen so far, the voting process is smooth across all six states and the situation is calm,”Continue Reading
SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the Philippines to work with China to seek an effective way to defuse tensions in the South China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday (Aug 12). The comments come amid rising tensions between the two countries over the location ofContinue Reading
One-third of all Chinese hedge funds likely face liquidation next month when new minimum net asset values come into force. The measures mark Beijing’s latest regulatory squeeze on a key, fast-growing industry.
Hedge funds must maintain a net asset value of at least 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) for 60 consecutive trading days or face liquidation, according to the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Private Equity Investment Funds.
The new minimum capital requirements were unveiled by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and Ministry of Justice on July 9 and will take effect on September 1. The new regulations will cap leverage levels at 200% and the size of investments hedge funds can make in single securities at 25% of total assets under management.
Beijing seeks to weed out the smaller and often less professional players responsible for extreme volatility in a sector that has grown sevenfold over the last decade.
Around 93,000 hedge funds valued at 5.6 trillion yuan were in operation across China at the end of 2022, according to the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), a self-regulatory fund management industry group.
Shanghai Suntime Information Technology Co, a financial data provider, says that nearly 35,000 products, or 37% of the total hedge fund industry, have less than 5 million yuan of assets under management.
The new regulations will also require hedge fund managers to maintain at least 10 million yuan of paid-in capital. Analysts estimate that thousands of hedge funds will have to be shut down within this year, resulting in a “historic” shake-up of the massive industry.
New Premier Li Qiang toughened industry curbs in July by approving a broad regulation on private funds that raised penalties for violations. The first State Council-level legislation on the industry will allow for criminal investigations into alleged irregularities including insider trading and can invalidate contracts that breach rules, news reports said.
On December 30 last year, the AMAC issued a consultation draft of the Measures for Registration and Filing of Private Investment Funds requiring hedge fund firms to have at least 10 million yuan of assets. In January this year, a total of 1,564 private equity firms were de-registered. On February 24, the AMAC officially launched the measures, which took effect on May 1.
As of mid-July, 1,959 private equity firms had been de-registered this year, compared with the dissolution of 2,210 firms for the whole year of 2022. There are about 22,000 private equity firms in China, which are managing more than 15,300 funds worth a total of 21 trillion yuan.
Zhou Chenghan, a solicitor at Beijing Zhongwen Lawyer Office, said the measures that took effect on May 1 are “self-regulatory” rules for the fund management sector while those that will take effect on September 1 are CSRC regulations.
The China Securities Journal said the new rules will act to remove “fake” private equity firms and shell companies from Chinese markets.
Zhou Yiqin, president of GuanShao Information Consulting Center, a financial regulations specialist, told Bloomberg that small hedge funds in China are facing growing compliance pressures while a large number of them will exit the markets.
The same Bloomberg report said smaller funds often outperform the larger ones as they deploy high levels of leverage and experience extreme volatility. It said larger firms such as Perseverance Asset Management and Bridgewater Associates LP are set to benefit from the new regulations, which will drive out smaller players from the market.
China’s hedge fund sector is much more concentrated than the US industry. The AMAC said in a report in 2021 that the largest 500 hedge funds managed about 57% of industry assets in the US while the top 500 firms held about 84% of assets in China.
Jiao Jinhong, chief lawyer of the CSRC, said the regulator had spent a decade working to improve its rules, which aim to standardize private equity investment activities and improve supervision.
He said the new rules will cover different activities from fund-raising to liquidations, support the healthy development of venture capital funds and effectively consolidate the legal foundation of private equity investment funds.
“The new rules will definitely benefit private equity investment funds and the overall asset management industry’s high-quality development,” Jiao said.
He added that the CSRC already reformed the stock listing system earlier this year and that it is high time to improve Chinese capital markets from the investor-side, which refers to hedge funds and their managers.
“Asset management products are one of the main sources of medium and long-term funds in the capital market,” he said. “Strengthening the market supervision and guiding fund managers to earnestly fulfill their obligations are the only way to achieve high-quality development of the asset management industry.”
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PUBLISHED : 12 Aug 2023 at 12:39
Police conducted a raid on a luxury house in Saphan Sung district of Bangkok on Friday, resulting in the arrest of nine foreign nationals.
Pol Col Siwat Sriwichai, chief of Bang Chan police, led a team of officers to search the house at Life Bangkok Boulevard housing estate in Thab Chang area on Friday afternoon.
During the operation, the team found seven men and two women, all foreign nationals, inside the house, where a drug party was taking place. The suspects were two Malaysian men, five Chinese (three men and two women), one Vietnamese man and a man from Myanmar.
Seized from the house were a quantity of ketamine in a fruit tray, 24 tablets of the so-called “five-five” drugs also known as Erimin 5, a pistol loaded with eight rounds of ammunition, said police.
The suspects were charged with colluding in having Category 2 drugs and a weapon and ammunition in their possession.
The raid came after police radio centre 191 received a complaint from residents at the housing estate that parties with loud music were often held at this house.
All nine individuals were taken to Bang Chan police station for legal action.