New forensics centre to target online crime

Officers equipped with an “online Swat” group

Athip: Cybercrime in police sights
Athip: Cybercrime in authorities places

This month, Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, captain of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD ), announced the opening of a digital forensics center to aid in the fight against crime.

The center will be equipped with cutting-edge systems and have a tech-savvy workforce to deal with those who spread false information or false information on social media websites, as well as organized crime networks that use technologies to mislead people or carry out illegal activities, such as stealing organization or individual data, he said.

He stated that the TCSD’s digital forensics center may be established this month.

” The centre is akin to a Swat]Special Weapons and Tactics ] unit. However, Pol Maj Gen Athip claimed that the Swat unit is operating online and gathering electronic evidence to detain and prosecute criminals.

He said the TCSD was the first officers organization, set up in 2009, to combat crime.

” Fake news involving democratic and security concerns ran ambush on social media between 2011 and 2012,” according to the report. But since 2014-2015, scenarios involving crime have been increasing”, he said.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau was established in 2019 to improve efficiency in cyber-crime studies, he said.

” But the TCSD is primarily responsible for addressing cases involving hi-tech violence as well as crime that poses threats to national security,” the statement continued.

” This work is a difficult challenge. We must deal with criminals who use advanced technology while also providing information on hacking threats to prevent victims.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, “digital coaching for officers to fight computer criminals is also a priority.”

He claimed that the TCSD has taken action against Chinese nationals operating dark businesses in Thailand as well as call-centre swindlers.

He added that Thais who work with call-center scammers also need to be arrested and dealt with quickly.” We not only arrest thieves operating in Thailand, but also stop them from sneaking into Thailand via biological boundary crossings,” he said.

In December 2022, TCSD police even cut off cross-border digital cables used to help call-centre swindlers in Cambodia, he said.

Police searched businesses in Sa Kaeo province and discovered many high-speed internet cables spanning the Thai-Cambodian border and erected on energy poles.

The cords provided online access that is thought to be used by groups that have defrauded numerous Thai citizens. He claimed that authorities have discovered that the cables were being used improperly to block online access in the neighboring nation.

He added that law enforcement is likewise pursuing complaints about online gaming payment processors.

He claimed that when officers detain cyber crime suspects, their cell phones and other possessions, including computers and pills, are also taken for investigation.

The digital forensics center may be crucial in tracing and examining digital data recovered from seized products.

” Today, acts are extremely shifting online. Officers need to find digital information that may be left on mobile devices or other equipment, such as cash transfers, conversion, messages, and communications posted”, Pol Maj Gen Athip said.

” Some data and files may be deleted or changed. But the fresh center will have the technology to record, collect and retrieve them”, he said.

A total of 169 suspects have been detained for alleged involvement in cybercrime since November 14th, according to the Anti-Online Scam Operation Center ( AOS).

According to the AOC, each of them is allegedly linked to significant organized crime network, and the number of such situations is expected to rise even more.

Pol Col Patphawit Wongpinit, commander of the TCSD’s aid system, will be in charge of the electronic forensics center.

He claimed that scammers use tactics to conceal or face their identities and remove any trace of themselves online by using computer systems with data stored in computer devices.

” Soldiers may listen to them quickly using modern technology and tools. The staff at the center must have the necessary training to handle online information. They will also need to coordinate their efforts with those of other state companies and the secret business,” he added.

” Upskilling staff in modern technology may be challenging. Officials had constantly strive to learn new skills and develop their skills in order to keep up with computer criminals,” Pol Col Patphawit said.

He even issued a warning about website fraud by using artificial intelligence to fabricate fake images of people without their knowledge.

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Nepal: Himalayan Sherpa village hit by freezing floods

According to officials, snowy flood waters have engulfed a Sherpa town in Nepal’s Mountain region.

Thame, which is located at an elevation of about 3,800m, is thought to have been flooded by a glacial river that has burst its banks. Experts have warned that the Himalayan ice are melting at an alarming rate due to climate change.

No fatalities or injuries have been reported, but more than a hundred structures, including buildings, a school, and a wellbeing center, have been completely destroyed by Friday’s flood.

Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first man to summit Mount Everest along with navigator Edmund Hillary, hailed from Thame, where some record-breaking Sherpa climbers reside.

In floods that have become colored due to mud and debris, videos of bubbly, milky waters flowing through the village.

Gaurav Kumar Houston, a spokeswoman for the Egyptian army, told AFP that 15 homes had been destroyed while save teams were rescuing those who had fallen.

Local officials claim that during their research, bad weather prevented the use of helicopters, and that they intend to take them to the mountains on Saturday night.

Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a climate change specialist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ( ICIMOD ), said there are “indications” that the flood was the result of a glacial lake outburst and that they were working to confirm it despite the fact that the cause is unknown.

Experts have warned that glacial lake in the Himalaya are becoming unstable and prone to burst their businesses as a result of climate change and glacial glaciers melting.

In the Himalayas, glacier melt has created hundreds of glacial lakes that have appeared inexplicably. According to a 2020 review by the ICIMOD, 2, 070 were documented in Nepal, of which 21 were ranked “potentially dangerous”.

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Protests may start off well-intentioned but often ‘get hijacked’, putting police in ‘impossible position’: Shanmugam

Aside from propaganda, hate speech, unusual disturbance, as well as underlying socio-economic problems such as employment and housing are different factors that have contributed to the demonstrations in the United Kingdom, said Mr Shanmugam.

The minister continued,” We do n’t allow this in Singapore,” noting that the nation makes efforts to “prevent such a situation from arising by having a carefully designed legal framework and also carefully designed set of policies that give priority to law and order.”

First, Singapore has a number of laws in place to address these possible problems.

The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act ( MRHA ), which protects against the incitement of racial and religious hatred, includes a strict policy toward hate speech, in addition to the regulations imposed by the Public Order Act.

” Because when people are constantly exposed to hate talk … the hidden prejudices, biases may earn and finally, violence. That is evident everywhere in the universe. So we do n’t even allow it to start and we take action”, said Mr Shanmugam.

Since the MRHA was passed in the 1990s and afterward amended in 2019, government “haven’t had to get serious motion”, he said. He continued, adding that there have been “very few” situations involving race and religion that have been reported over the past five years.

His administration will also be introducing the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, which, among other things, aims to strengthen existing laws that deal with cultural problems.

Separately, Singapore also has laws to deal with falsehoods and foreign interference, namely through the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act ( POFMA ) and Foreign Interference ( Countermeasures ) Act ( FICA ) respectively.

Collectively, this legal foundation forms a” helmet” that protects Singaporeans from the violence seen in other areas. &nbsp,

Residents are not normally distinct or have always existed. But our model acts as a weapon”, said Mr Shanmugam.

Beyond that, we have empowered law enforcement to prevent it from becoming a mob or into anything more critical, including the few who make it through. So the result is no riots, racist attacks, violence- the kind of thing that you saw” .&nbsp,

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End of the line for ‘Big Joke’

Police chief expectations will rise as the departure is suddenly announced.

Pol Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, speaks to reporters in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court, where he filed a defamation suit against a senior police officer on June 24. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)
On June 24, Pol Gen Surachate” Big Joke” Hakparn filed a libel suit against a senior police officer in front of the Bangkok South Criminal Court. ( Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham )

With the standard news of his departure from the army, any hope that Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn might have had of becoming the federal police chief this year has vanished.

The high-profile official known as” Big Joke” was removed from his position due to a pending investigation of a major breach of discipline, said the statement. The decree was effective from April 18 onward.

The Royal Gazette news, countersigned by Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, even stated that a royal command to reject Pol Gen Surachate under Sections 140 and 179 of the Royal Thai Police Act Get 2565, and Police Commission laws, had been issued.

Pol Gen Surachate is disqualified from being considered as a member for federal police chief as a result of the departure. The present captain, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, will leave on Sept 30.

The expulsion order stems from claims that Pol Gen Surachate was a part of an online gaming community, which are still being looked into. In June, the Police Commission affirmed the purchase with a vote of 12: 0.

He then appealed to the Police Commanders’ Merit System Protection Commission. However, the percentage agreed that the order was reasonable and ideal on August 5.

One more legitimate card is left for Pol Gen Surachate to play. He has filed a complaint against the purchase with the Supreme Court, according to Pol Gen Ek Aungsananon, a part of the Police Commission.

According to Pol Gen Ek, the expulsion order may be voided if the court decides in his favor, allowing him to become reinstated as deputy national authorities key.

The Supreme Court wo n’t say when or if the case will be considered.

Pol Gen Surachate has asserted on numerous times that he was the front-runner to Pol Gen Torsak as the leader. He has stated that the accusations of legal action are a part of his battle against him.

After the latter was chosen as general despite having less rank than any other member, a long-running conflict between loyalties to Pol Gen Surachate and Pol Gen Torsak grew even more so. Pol Gen Torsak is the Crown Property Bureau’s mind, Lord Chamberlain, and ACM Satitpong Sukvimol’s sibling.

In March, then-prime secretary Srettha Thavisin moved both officers generals to inert positions pending the outcome of an inspection because the conflict became such a diversion for the force.

The research report stated that investigations into alleged crime were up to other bodies, even though it stated that there had been ongoing political conflict on the force.

It furthermore stated that Pol Gen Surachate had been unfairly dismissed from his duties pending investigation and that Pol Gen Torsak should be reinstated.

However, the Police Commission also went back and approved the termination order.

Much regarded as a rising star on the police force, Pol Lt Gen Surachate. He was often out of the spotlight, putting himself at the center of cases involving everything from illegal motorcycle riders to immigration violators, as well as computer crime cases involving members of a division he led.

The child of a police, Surachate was born in 1970 in Songkhla. He immediately rose through the ranks to take over a neighborhood train before moving to Bangkok to lead the 191 job force. Before moving on to the visitor police, he received the most powerful position at the Immigration Bureau in 2018 and eventually became a deputy key.

In 2020 a shooter fired eight bullets into Pol Gen Surachate’s parked Lexus while he was at a “business gathering” in Bang Rak city of Bangkok. The event has never been solved.

According to a police origin, three officers commanders are candidates to become the next key: Kitrat Phanphet and Thana Chuwong, now assistant chiefs, and Kraiboon Suadsong, an inspector-general.

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India announces Kashmir polls after 10-year hiatus

From September 18th, India will carry important regional elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which is a disputed region.

These surveys are the first in nearly ten years and the first since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration removed the country’s unique position in 2019.

The 90 districts ‘ three-phased election will end on October 1 and counting will begin on October 4.

Some 8.7 million people, including 4.26 million people, may become eligible to vote, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.

Assembly elections typically take place after five years, but democratic doubt had slowed down the process.

Elections are scheduled to take place in Jammu and Kashmir after a long absence, Mr. Kumar stated at a press event in Delhi on Friday.

He added that Kashmir had voted” for poll over gun”- as the place had witnessed a traditional voter participation of 58.46 % in the recently-held legislative elections, a 30-point leap in voter turnout from the 2019 general election.

The commission later stated on X ( previously Twitter ) that the long lines of voters during the general elections were” a testament to the will and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in writing their own destiny.”

Friday’s news comes just weeks after India’s Supreme Court upheld the state decision to scrap the amendment’s Content 370, which gave the place significant freedom. Additionally, the judge mandated that council votes be held by September 30.

The state had likewise divided the state of more than 12 million people into Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, two of which were under the federal government’s control, in addition to removing Kashmir’s unique status.

The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) under Mr. Modi’s leadership made the decision very unpopular in the state. The revocation was one of its poll promises in 2019.

The prime minister made his first appearance in the region since 2019 in March, telling reporters he was “working hard to win your souls.” He also announced projects worth 64bn rupees ($ 774m, £607m ) to support local agriculture and tourism.

However, local politicians and experts claim that the BJP’s rage is still present.

After India and Pakistan’s independence from Britain in 1947, the Alpine place split. Both the two nuclear-armed countries have fought two wars and had a brief fight over the place in the decades that have followed.

Tens of thousands of lives have been lost due to an armed rebellion against Delhi’s law in the Indian-administered area since 1989, and there is a significant military presence there.

Delhi accuses Islamabad of stifling harmony in the area and harboring insurgents, a command Pakistan refutes.

Kashmir continues to be dogged by incidents of violence. A recent spurt in militant activity – which seems to have shifted from the Kashmir valley to the relatively calmer Jammu region – is a particular cause for concern.

In June, nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and dozens injured after militants opened fire on a bus in Reasi – where the bridge is located – in one of the deadliest militant attacks in recent years. There have been several other attacks on the army and civilians.

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Poisoning case witness nabbed for illegal tours

Used, cyanide-tainted teacups are seen in the Bangkok hotel room where six Vietnamese people were found dead on July 16. (Photo supplied)
Six Asian people who were found dead on July 16 in a Bangkok hotel space can be seen using vases that have been contaminated with cyanide. ( Photo supplied )

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.

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Mekong group to work on human security

Among the areas of focus are waters resources management, air pollution, and intergovernmental crime.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi (third from left), joins Eksiri Pintaruchi, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (fourth from left) and other representatives of Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia at the ninth Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) foreign ministers’ meeting in Chiang Mai on Friday. (Photo: Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi ( third from left ), joins Eksiri Pintaruchi, permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( fourth from left ) and other representatives of Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia at the ninth Mekong-Lancang Cooperation ( MLC ) foreign ministers ‘ meeting in Chiang Mai on Friday. ( Photo: Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs )

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.

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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. &nbsp,

He received an eight-year, six-month prison sentence.

The two Singaporeans, then both aged 45, left the country in earlier September 2020. &nbsp, They had travelled to China on a private charter journey, court records showed. &nbsp,

But shortly after their departure, officers received a statement that petitions of accounting firm Ernst &amp, Young had been forged on some of NGHG’s financial statements. &nbsp,

The men were detained in Shanghai in November 2022 and issued with permits of imprisonment and Interpol dark finds. &nbsp,

According to Singapore officers, the pair returned in December 2022 with the assistance and cooperation of their Chinese counterparts. &nbsp, 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&nbsp.

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. &nbsp,

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. &nbsp,

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.

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