Poisoning case witness nabbed for illegal tours
Discussed: 16 Aug 2024 at 20: 16
A Asian male has been detained for working as a trip guide without authorization after being a witness in the case of six colleagues who were found dead last month at a Bangkok guesthouse.
Phan Ngoc Vu, 35, was detained on Friday night as he addressed a group of visitors at a resort in the Bangkok district’s Ratchathewi area.
Following the ominous identification of six body in a place at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, police interviewed Mr. Vu next month. He had served as the group’s link, and the officers were attempting to establish a timeline of the events that occurred.
When five Asian women met at the resort to fix a financial dispute, police suspected a 56-year-old Asian lady with US citizen of using a deadly combination of cyanide and tea to poison five of their relatives. She therefore took her personal life, they concluded.
After Mr. Vu was questioned by police, visitor authorities became curious and decided to keep an eye on his behavior. They saw him many times taking Taiwanese tourists to various Thai attractions.
Without proper identification and a job force, he was charged with operating a tour company and working as a tour guide. He was taken for legal control to the police station in Phaya Thai.
Mekong group to work on human security
Among the areas of focus are waters resources management, air pollution, and intergovernmental crime.
Described: 16 Aug 2024 at 19: 57
One of the main topics raised at the ninth Mekong-Lancang Cooperation ( MLC ) foreign ministers ‘ meeting co-chaired by Thailand and China on Friday in Chiang Mai was human security.
Individuals agreed that enhancing surveillance at the local level may help ensure equitable progress in the greater Mekong subregion, which includes China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
People safety is a local challenge, and officials agreed to strengthen cooperation against frequent security threats, such as transnational crime, said Eksiri Pintaruchi, continuous secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A combined statement called for increased cooperation on intergovernmental crime, mainly drug trafficking and crime, such as online scams and scam facilities.
According to Ms Eksiri, participation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Framework may include sharing of information and knowledge, observing border regulates, and establishing capacity.
Officials also focused on tackling transnational air pollutants, another obstacle to human security, by agreeing to do a Clean Air initiative to create a haze-free Mekong-Lancang community, she said.
A plan to expand cooperation in the field of water resources was also agreed on, encompassing both the Mekong River ( known as the Lancang in China ) and the countries through which it flows.
” Thailand pledges to continue working with all MLC members on fostering biodiversity, especially through the Mekong-Lancang water resources cooperation centre and the Mekong River Mission Secretariat”, said Ms Eksiri.
Singaporean previously linked to Newcastle United takeover bid jailed 15 years and nine months
SINGAPORE: A former director of Novena Global Healthcare Group ( NGHG ) was on Friday ( Aug 16 ) jailed for 15 years and nine months.
Nelson Loh Ne-Loon was found innocent of nine counts of fraud, fraud, and four for lying. The punishment also took into account 60 additional, comparable charges overall.
Loh was a member of a group of buyers looking to acquire English Premier League side Newcastle United in the 2020 season. A bargain not materialised.
Michael Wong Quickly Yuh, a former personnel of the medical company who worked closely with Loh, was found guilty of five counts of lying, according to the police, on Friday.  ,
He received an eight-year, six-month prison sentence.
The two Singaporeans, then both aged 45, left the country in earlier September 2020.  , They had travelled to China on a private charter journey, court records showed.  ,
But shortly after their departure, officers received a statement that petitions of accounting firm Ernst &, Young had been forged on some of NGHG’s financial statements.  ,
The men were detained in Shanghai in November 2022 and issued with permits of imprisonment and Interpol dark finds.  ,
According to Singapore officers, the pair returned in December 2022 with the assistance and cooperation of their Chinese counterparts.  , They have been in custody since their profit.
Between July and November 2018, Loh and Wong forged and submitted audited financial statements from NGHG, Giron, and a company of NGHG known as Novena Global Healthcare Pte Ltd .
The men then used those statements to obtain bank loans amounting to about S$ 68 million ( US$ 51.6 million ), the police said on Friday.
Court records showed that Loh and Wong improperly obtained money from six banks- Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, DBS, UOB, Citibank and HSBC.
The police claimed that the majority of the illegal money derived from these loan services were later transferred to local or foreign institutions.  ,
According to the police, US$ 630, 000 was used to finance a business deal involving Novena Global Healthcare Pte Ltd, which introduced illegal proceeds into the company’s offer network.
Up to four years in prison, a good, or both are possible penalties for each charge of forgery or conspiring to build.  ,
Engaging in a cheating conspiracy is punishable by a 10-year prison sentence and a good.
Those found guilty of money laundering may be jailed for up to 10 times, fined up to S$ 500, 000, or both.
‘I just wanted to play more golf’ says the most successful golf startup founder in Malaysia
- David Wong ran Deemples as a small fleet of 5 team when he raised US$ 2m ,  ,
- Moving from 12 % to 15 % of GTV, the company achieved first profitability last year.
Deemples and chairman of Malay golf Deemples and creator David Wong received US$ 2 million from a Singapore-based business venture capital firm, V Ventures, in May 2024. This brought its total funding raised to US$ 2.625 million ( RM11.6 million ), making Deemples the most successful startup, from a funding point, targeting the Malaysian golf market.
This is David’s eighth month, making this the longest David has ever lived. Since the late 1990s, startup founders have been trying to break into the Indonesian golf industry from a player and golf club perspective. Few have succeeded.  ,
Not a bad achievement by the 41 , year-old David, who admits,” I actually did n’t want to do it, because I just wanted to be a user, and play more golf”.
Grains wrought in 2014
Deemples seeds were planted in 2014, to be planted in 2015. Users then presently had programs to address their needs for a lot of items, like Tinder with dating, Capture with ride-hailing, FoodPanda with food and food delivery, Airbnb with hospitality.  ,
Therefore, it made feeling for there to be a system where golfers could enjoy along, as David had intended.
” I was hoping that there was a Tinder for sport out there that I could use to meet and get different people to play with at particular times that were suitable for me,” he said.
But he could n’t find such a platform.
Deemples ‘ concept was born with the intention of amp;nbsp; achieving his desire to play more golf. ” My friends could n’t play whenever I wanted to play because our times did n’t match, and I did n’t know a whole lot of golfers”.
With a full-time career in Shanghai and the luxury of working with an outsourced development team to create the software in the hopes of testing the market response, he decided to jump in with both feet and took the only chance. It did not go well.
Working with a team that did n’t care about his project was a lot of work. So he gave up on this. It was 2015.
At this point, David however wanted to pursue Deemples, even though it would be simple to do so. He took the experience while,” Part-and-parcel of trying and failing”.
He was aware from the beginning that it would be challenging, particularly since he had no leader to give him a blueprint or advice. He continues to struggle with the latter.
His knowledge selling books during his student days helped him emotionally for the challenging road ahead.
” I was selling ebooks door-to-door part-time, across three state, while studying in Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in the US. They told me it was going to be hard, and I was mentally ready”.
He adopted that mind-set and was willing to give up a bit, also go broke developing Deemples.
Things improved in 2016 when he hired a friend with a background in technology to work on the game for his first CTO.  ,
The software was launched in Sept 2016, with David’s primary aim to find 1, 000 downloads in Malaysia and 500 in Singapore. ” I told myself that if this hits 1, 500 files, I had quit my job”, he said.
Little did he know, but by Jan 2017 it had reached over 3, 000 files. David left his job in June with a distinct market potential.
His confidence was further bolstered when three friends whom he pitched Deemples to in 2014 when he was based in Shanghai, invested a combined US$ 125, 000 ( RM525, 000 ) after he went full time.
A minute funding round was provided for David in April 2019, which ultimately totaled US$ 150, 000. It was announced as US$ 105, 000 but David explains that another US$ 45, 000 came in after the news. In the interim, he appointed Ahmad Daleen as CTO, replacing his second CTO who left the same year.
Trying to monetize the marketing design and user growth
David made a point of getting as many users as possible in accordance with the company ecosystem’s prevailing pre-pandemic time mantra.
” In that same year, 2017, we expanded to Manila, to Jakarta, trying to build a customer basic, but nothing really stuck”, David said.
The corresponding argument of Deemples was finally realized that neither the business model nor the user experience aspect were sufficient. After all, no a pays to record for their Grab, FoodPanda, or Boost apps, charging customers to use the matching services may turn many people out.
From the user experience, it does n’t complete the experience.  ,
” After I find someone to play golf with, I would still need to book a golf program”, David explains. Which is why David focused on a transaction-based booking system for Deemples in 2019 where users give a tee off fee to Deemples, who would then reimburse the clubs. This marked the beginning of his monetization journey.
” We started testing the model at a number of programs in the Klang Valley,” he said.
When profits started coming in 2020, he immediately raised US$ 350, 000 through pitchIN’s capital fundraising program in Sept. He actually raised US$ 230, 000 but with the Malaysian government matching any funding raised through equity crowdfunding via the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund ( MyCIF ) grant initiative, he received an extra 50 % investment.  ,
Moving from 12 % to 15 % cut of GTV &, doubling revenue for past 3 years
Initially from 2020, Deemples took a 12 % cut of the Gross Transaction Value ( GTV ) from tee off bookings. ” Only now, we are moving towards a 15 % cut”, he said.
The first year it activated its income type, Deemples generated RM1 million in GTV, in 2021 it was RM2 million, in 2022 it was RM4.8 million and last year it was RM9 million in GTV.
” We’ve been doubling our GTV every year for the last three years, and 2023 was the first time that we reached revenue at around RM1 million and were profitable”, David said.
” This year however, we wo n’t reach profitability because we are investing more into growing the business, growing users, increasing marketing activities, and helping golf courses achieve their revenue goals by upgrading our product”.
The team has already begun developing innovative features, underlying fundamental modifications, and design improvements that may make it simpler for both golfers and golfers to employ.
Running a small fleet
What is distinctive about David is how, pre-raising the US$ 2 million, he has run Deemples as a very small fleet with staff at five individuals.
” We had to concentrate on growing the business rather than creating new products, so it was only Ahmad on the digital side.” But after May of this year, we have grown the technical staff to five top designers and one UI/UX people”, said David. The current personnel is 16
The latest overall customer base is between 80, 000 to 90, 000 with 11, 000 monthly active users on the game while the web has 30, 000 monthly active users.  ,
This engaged user base provides useful information for golf clubs. ” Since many of these clubs do n’t have their own CRM ( customer relationship management ), they can use us to reach a lot of golfers”, he said.
” While sportsmen is article games at all golf clubs in Malaysia, we work competitively with 80 venues, who accept payments sincere from golf via Deemples”, he added.
Hotels work together to offer package services for lodging and transportation when golfers travel from outside the state or the country.
Various brands in real estate, finance, travel, luxury, and automotive who want to engage with golfers, who are mainly middle to high income males ranging between 25 and 65 years old, also partner Deemples.  ,
Lessons learnt
Over his eight-year journey, the key lesson David has learned is to say’ No’ to a lot of things, and focus on things that matter.
Because everyone will want you to behave in their ways, it’s clear that you wo n’t do anything well and that there are only so many hours or resources to play around with if you try to please everyone.
He has also learned to be focused, especially when resources are tight, not just on the product offering but also on the geographic focus. And even now, with resources available, thanks to the US$ 2 million funding, he says, “you can plan product and geographic expansion accordingly with a specific amount of focus”.
For the ardent golfer, who has been playing since 2009 and has a lowest ever handicap of 14 versus 19 when he launched Deemples in 2017, David says he has” no desire to improve it- because golf is a tough game and it takes a lot of effort to improve.”
Nonetheless, it is a game anyone can enjoy, despite their handicap, says the Deemples power user who has racked up around 450 tee times. ” Sadly, I am not the top power user as there are those who have racked up over 500 tee times” . , But that’s good for business.
Money laundering syndicate crippled in joint Hong Kong, Singapore and Interpol operation; 8 arrested
Digital SUPPORT SCAMS ,
Between January and July, 185 information related to technical support schemes were made, with costs amounting to at least S$ 17.9 million, said SPF.  ,
Victims of this kind of fraud would often get screen pop-ups claiming their laptops or desktops had been hacked by malware on their computers.  ,
The pop-ups would also provide phone numbers for the sufferers to phone in addition to telling them to call Microsoft or Apple technical support right away.  ,
Scammers who pretend to be Microsoft or Apple tech support personnel would then make the claim that the patients ‘ devices had been hacked by “hackers” and used for illegal purposes when they received the call.
The scammers would therefore advise patients to download software and/or access websites that would give them remote access to their devices.
After this, the patients may be instructed to log into their i-Bank balances under the excuse of helping to catch the “hackers.”  ,
This, however, was to help the scammers to get the victim’s online bank ID and password.  ,
From there, they could use the victim’s bank account’s distant access feature to carry out illegal deals.
In some situations, victims were instructed to create bitcoin accounts or deliver one-time passwords to e-wallet transactions.  ,
They would only become aware of their own being defrauded when they discovered illegal payments or conclusions from their bank balances.
Jokowi signals continuity in Indonesia’s 2025 budget, touts achievements in final State of the Nation speech
ANOTHER APOLOGY
For his State of the Nation address, Mr. Widodo bide goodnight and apologised to the people for the next day this quarter while wearing a black dress from the Betawi people, a group local to Jakarta.
He said during a 20-minute statement at the Women’s Consultative Assembly meet, a yearly custom before the Independence Day celebrations on August 17, that he understood that his accomplishments could hardly please everyone.
” I and ( Vice President ) Ma’ruf Amin apologise. I repent to every soul that may be disappointed, for every desire that may not have been realised, for every dream that may not have been achieved”, said Mr Widodo.
His past explanation,  , during a congregational meditation celebration on Aug 1, was labelled by detractors as a strategy to gain sympathy.
Mr. Widodo claimed he had no power to choose the political and vice-presidential applicants for the presidency and that he had put emphasis on stability of policies at next year’s State of the Nation address.  ,
Nevertheless, he introduced a number of programs that observers said favored the eventual winners of the national election, including evil president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka and defence minister Prabowo Subianto.
His actions were criticized as an effort to bolster his own social kingdom, particularly given that Mr. Gibran had been permitted to run through a contentious constitutional court decision.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani made obscene remarks before Mr. Widodo on Friday while speaking with him.
She claimed that the people who voted in this manner could not be held accountable.
” Was the poll completely, honest and fair? I leave it to you to solution… Were citizens capable to choose openly, honestly, quite, without force, control and fear”? she asked.
ActiveSG users unhappy over switch to new booking platform, say it is confusing and more troublesome
CHILD COULD NOT ENTER WITHOUT PARENT ,
One of his students had to depend on his family to show employees the passage go before he could enter the lake on Thursday, according to swim instructor Mr. Yao, who constantly teaches at Sengkang Swimming Complex.  ,
The child used to be able to provide using his EZ-Link id, or what , ActiveSG calls the School Smart Card.
” So now without EZ-Link card, the younger ones ( who ) do n’t have phones with them… have issues, because then the parents have to come”, said Mr Yao, 42.
” Usually the mother will just drop ( my student off ) then he uses the bus card, the EZ-Link card. The family had to travel and apply her phone to show the complete without the EZ-Link cards from yesterday, and then she could leave.
The child’s absence from college with his or her Smart Card is a mystery.
According to ActiveSG’s FAQ, pictures of the move will not be accepted.
However, to verify that parents have purchased a pass for them, babies who are unaccompanied by parents simply need to go to the gate and ask for their parents ‘ mobile number or NRIC range. They must take along their School Smart Card for confirmation.
Mr. Yao noted that users will now have to purchase an access pass using a PayNow or credit card, making the process more challenging, particularly given that the move is only valid for one day.  ,
” So you cannot use it if you buy on the day and then immediately there is heavy weather.”
CNA has contacted SportSG for opinion.  ,
ActiveSG cited a couple factors in its FAQ in its move to a web-based system, including how this makes it possible to reach more people because it eliminates the need to download and install an application for various websites.  ,
Updates are automatically made available with a net app, and customers will always have the most recent features and bug fixes without the need to download something, the FAQ stated.  ,
It claimed that a user can access a web application more conveniently when they use a website hyperlink or saved shortcut.  ,
Cordlife loses accreditation with international blood bank body
S$ 12.35 Billion LOSS
In a separate filing, Cordlife posted a loss of S$ 12.35 million ( US$ 9.4 million ) for the first half of the year, compared , to a net profit of S$ 2.2 million in the same period a year ago.
The drop includes about S$ 9.7 million for the , cancellation of successive charges for clients who had stored cord blood in its high-risk tanks, as well as deal liabilities , related to upcoming store obligations of affected clients.
Seven of Cordlife’s 22 storage tank  , were found to have been exposed to temperatures above appropriate restrictions in November 2023.  ,
Around 2, 200 thread body units belonging to nearly 2, 150 clients were damaged, with about another 5, 300 thread body units stored in a subsequent tank and a clean shipper deemed “non-viable” by MOH.
Cordlife’s profit for the first half of the year was  , S$ 9.2 million, a sharp decline from S$ 28.3 million in the same period a year ago.  ,
The reduction in income for 1H2024 is mainly due to the expulsion of the Cordlife Group’s Singapore functions, the organization said.
The bank’s Singapore businesses, which had been the company’s largest income source, is expected to continue to be affected by the continuous suspension and examinations, said Cordlife.
” Cordlife will continue to work closely with the MOH to look into and correct the deficiencies in its Singapore activities.
The business reported that during the evaluation phase, it “upped its correction efforts.”
It said that an , oversight committee was created in May 2024 that , comprises , specific executives and managing and will help solve Cordlife’s current issues, including the nomination of a new assessment agency.
In order to provide guidance and insights to its teams, Cordlife added that it established a medical and technical advisory board in June 2024.
Cordlife stated that it has been working with Shandong Qilu Stemcell Engineering since July to assist its Singapore team during the rectification period.  ,
Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store, which owns 20.3 % of Cordlife, is a subsidiary of Shandong Qilu Stemcell Engineering. It has around 1 million cord blood units in its cord blood bank and is located in Shandong province, China.  ,
Additionally, it is thought that Cordlife’s Philippines operation will offer a variety of diagnostics tests and routine prenatal screenings.
” Despite the extremely difficult first half, we have continued to strengthen our processes, update our stakeholders, and fix our operations with the aim of returning our operations to full strength as soon as possible,” said Cordlife group CEO Ivan Yu.
To lessen the impact of our Singapore operations, he continued,” We are also looking into new business opportunities in other markets.”
Cambodian PM congratulates Paetongtarn
Several neighboring nations are now both dominated by kids of previous nominees.
Described: 16 Aug 2024 at 18: 21
Paetongtarn Shinawatra has received a message of congratulations from Thai Prime Minister Hun Manet on her election as Thailand’s new prime minister.
In the treatment released by his company, Hun Manet wrote,” This stands as a testament to the trust and confidence the Thai citizens have in your leadership.”  ,  ,
Cambodia and Thailand appreciate longstanding diplomatic relations and near assistance, which have had a long history of cultural relationships and mutual respect, and have benefited our peoples. I strongly believe that, under your leadership, we may continue to increase our corporate partnership”.
The neighboring nations then share one more thing in common: prime ministers who are the offspring of previous leaders.
Hun Manet, 46, assumed the prime ministership after his parents, Hun Sen, stepped down in August 2023 following primaries in which his Vietnamese People’s Party ran almost uncontested.
Paetongtarn, 37, the youngest child of former top and Pheu Thai father Thaksin Shinawatra, was elected as Thailand’s 31st prime minister on Friday, two weeks after the court-ordered expulsion of Srettha Thavisin. She becomes the youngest excellent minister in the country’s history.
Hun Sen, 72, and Thaksin, 75, have long been great friends. Thaksin also briefly served as an economical adviser to the Vietnamese leader during his self-imposed banishment from Thailand.
After being released on parole in February of this year, Hun Sen was one of the first people to make a first appearance at Thaksin’s Bangkok house.
‘Very strong’ Typhoon Ampil buffets Japan’s Pacific coast
Tokyo, August 16: A “very powerful” typhoon slammed Japan’s Pacific coast with strong winds and heavy rainfall, causing the withdrawal of lots of flights and railways in the Tokyo region and causing over 2, 000 homes to be without power.
Located about 170km south of Tokyo, Typhoon Ampil was packing winds of up to 216kmh as it headed north, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Instead of making ashore, the typhoon’s eye traveled northeast along the Honshu coast, passing through the Tokyo region, which has a population of about 40 million, before returning to the Pacific on Saturday.
The climate system was described as “very strong,” one notch below what it referred to as as a “violent typhoon,” with peak wind speeds of 195 kilometers per hour.
The company warned people to be “on high alert for violent winds, coastal waves, floods, flooding in low-lying lands, and valley storms”.
According to a statement, the risk of severe rain-related disasters may raise through Friday evening in the Kanto region close to Tokyo and through Saturday day in the northern Tohoku region.
By 3am Saturday ( 1800 GMT Friday ), the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center off the coast of the east of the capital’s coastal Chiba region, was able to forecast maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour.
More than 18, 000 people were given instructions to leave Chiba district south of Tokyo, according to a speech from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Some 2, 000 communities in Tokyo’s neighbouring counties, generally Chiba, were without electricity as of Friday afternoon due to the storms, according to the energy controller.