Weeding out the worrying graft and corruption among Malaysian youths and politicians !

MACC deputy chief commissioner (prevention) Datuk Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jamil

MACC reveals 'worrying statistics'

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 50% of those arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in the past three years were aged below 40.

MACC deputy chief commissioner (prevention) Datuk Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jamil expressed concern over the finding and said it as an “alarming situation”.

Of the 2,329 people arrested since 2014, 1,267 were below 40.

“People in this age group are supposed to be nation’s backbone, who will shape the future of our country,” he said in his keynote speech at a public forum organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) yesterday.

Shamshun said about 982 investigation papers were opened, 932 people were detained and 258 charged by the anti-graft body last year.

“MACC plans to engage with youths this year. The Gen-Y group always finds an easy way. We have to guide them from young and create awareness of what is happening around them,” he said.

On MACC seeking more allocation, Shamshun said the extra funds were for them to implement what they planned for the year.

“We need more whistle-blowers who can voluntarily come forward to report or provide information on corruption activities.”

He said such individuals will be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, that shields informants from action. – by Ashwin Kumar thesun

Weeding out graft among youths

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) will push on with efforts to eradicate corruption in the civil service in the face of budget cuts, says its deputy chief commissioner (prevention).

Datuk Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jamil (pic) told reporters that the commissions’ plan for 2017 would be to focus on Government agencies, as well as arresting the growing trend of corruption among youths.

Responding to questions on cuts to the MACC’s budget, he said it was an issue faced by all agencies, though the commission had appealed for more funding to carry out its plans.

“We can’t do everything at once because of (MACC’s) strength and budget. But my concern is also about how many of those arrested are under 40 years old,” said Shamshun Baharin, adding that 54% of those arrested (1,267 of 2,329 cases) were under 40.

He attributed the trend to the generation’s environment and wanting to take shortcuts, which MACC aimed to combat with the establishment of a corruption prevention secretariat in higher learning institutions.

During his keynote address at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) forum titled ‘Supporting the MACC in the fight against corruption’, Shamshun Baharin said 2016 had been a successful year for the commission.

He revealed that arrest numbers had gone up from 841 (2015) to 932 (2016), of which 258 suspects had been brought to court, as of Dec 15 last year.

At the event, IDEAS CEO Wan Saiful Wan Jan launched a signature drive under its #NyahKorupsi campaign, to support the MACC.

“Our goal is to have more Malaysians come out in support of the MACC because it has made more investigations and arrests of corrupt top officials. There may be a time when they will need our help,” he said.

He said IDEAS would collect as many signatures as possible before delivering it to MACC chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad.

To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/sokong-sprm-perangi-rasuah.

The other forum panellist included Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Akbar Satar, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel, Friends of Kota Damansara chairman Jeffrey Phang and Sinar Project co-founder Khairil Yusof. - By Qishin Tariq The Star/ANN

Just you wait, MACC boss warns corrupt politicians

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad,

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has warned corrupt politicians to “be careful”.

Its chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad, in a live television interview yesterday, said he had previously stated that he would take action on anyone involved in corrupt practices, including “politicians of any rank”.

“On my 100th day as MACC chief, I said that I will not be stopped from taking action against politicians.

“Tonight, I would like to say to corrupt politicians, just you wait (tunggulah),” he said.

Dzulkifli added that the MACC was not worried about “protected individuals” who committed systemic corruption.

“There is no issue about them being protected, I can guarantee that all those who commit corruption will not be left alone. I will take action against them without fear or favour,” he added.

But Dzulkifli admitted that the MACC had its limitations in terms of logistics.

“There are only 2,900 members and officers in the whole of the MACC, of which only 900 carry out legal enforcement as others are in the prevention and education departments, among others.

“Now if you look at the civil service alone, there are 1.6 million of them, so that is one.

“Besides that, is budget, that has been cut, and it is at its lowest since 2013,” he said.

Dzulkifli, however, added that he would not allow the limitations to stop the anti-graft body from carrying out its duties.

The Astro Awani interview is Dzulkifl’s first ever live interview since his appointment in July last year.

Dzulkifli, a veteran in the civil service, was the head of the National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team of the Attorney-General’s Chambers before being appointed chief commissioner.

He took over from Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, and his tenure is until July 31, 2021.

 - By D. Kanyakumari The Star/ANN

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More senior govt officials held over corruption involving millions of ringgit

PETALING JAYA: Two senior government officials have been remanded in Malacca and Johor over separate cases of graft involving millions of ringgit.

In Malacca, a senior state government official with the title of Datuk was remanded for four days.

The 55-year-old was brought to the magistrate’s court by the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) officers before the remand order was issued by assistant registrar Syarina Shaarani @ Tan.

On Monday in Putrajaya, MACC also detained and obtained a fiveday remand for a 70-year-old contractor with links to the Malacca senior official, who was believed to have solicited kickbacks in exchange of approval for projects.

It is learnt that MACC had frozen 22 bank accounts owned by the senior official and his family members amounting to RM11mil and 24 accounts belonging to the contractor totalling RM12mil.

MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki confirmed the latest arrest, adding that the investigation would zoom in on the projects involving the two suspects.

In Johor Baru, an assistant officer with the Johor Land Office was remanded for six days by a magistrate’s court over abuse of power in a land acquisition case.

Clad in an MACC orange lock-up shirt, the suspect, in his 50s, was brought in under the escort of several officers at around 11am. The remand order was approved by assistant registrar Norhidayah Abdul Manaf.

MACC state director Datuk Simi Abdul Ghani told Bernama that it was in the process of identifying the source of the man’s assets.

The suspect, he said, was believed to have abused his position to obtain land through land offices in other districts as well as acquire these via ownership transfers.

Initial investigation revealed that the suspect owned several pieces of agricultural land as well as a few residential plots and luxury homes.

In another case, a director of a federal agency in Labuan was rearrested by MACC a day after his remand for a graft probe over a RM12mil food court in Tg Purun expired.

This time, the suspect, 59, was held over a probe into a building and infrastructure project worth RM48mil in Labuan.

Yesterday, Labuan magistrate’s court registrar Haizah Tamin granted a seven-day remand order against the director.

So far, MACC has recorded statements from 17 witnesses, including two civil servants and staff from several companies and contractors.

However, sources said no new arrests or seizure of assets and property had been made.

Graft investigators are still sifting through documents and other evidence to determine the number of contracts in the project since the director took over the helm about two years ago.

Two contractors, in their 40s, who were detained with the director earlier over the food court project, have been released.

The director is said to have asked for RM100,000 from the contractors as kickback for awarding them the project.

Confirming the re-arrest, Azam said the director was detained over an ongoing probe under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act for offering and receiving bribes.

So far, 12 bank accounts with cash amounting to RM889,000 belonging to the suspect and several family members have been frozen.

MACC is also tracing several million ringgit allegedly transferred out of the accounts shortly before the suspect was picked up.

Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said MACC’s action against the state senior official reflected its government’s transparency.

There had been speculation that the officer was closely linked to certain key officials in the state, including himself, said Idris.

“Anyone can be seen to be close to me, but when it comes to corrupt practices, I will be the first to stand against it,” he said.

However, he urged people not to jump to any conclusion as the probe was still ongoing.

Senior officials held for alleged graft

PETALING JAYA: Two senior civil servants, one of whom is a Datuk, were detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Malacca and Johor for alleged corrupt practices.

Sources said the first suspect, aged 55, was picked up in downtown Malacca at about 2pm yesterday and is to be remanded today.

More than 20 bank accounts containing over RM10mil were frozen.

It is learnt that the suspect was soliciting kickbacks in exchange for approval of projects involving local authorities.

The sources said the MACC was currently determining the amount of money and number of projects involved.

More individuals are expected to be picked up to facilitate investigations.

In a separate case, an assistant land district officer was also picked up over alleged corruption.

The suspect, in his 50s, was detained when he appeared at the Johor MACC office to have his statement recorded at about 2pm yesterday.

Sources said the suspect was said to have misused his position to obtain land, including alleged illicit transfer of land ownership.

The case is being investigated under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009.

Initial investigations showed the suspect owned several plots of agricultural land covering 6.77ha.

In addition, he is said to have acquired a 27.51ha piece of jointly-developed land, residential land and a high-cost luxury unit in seve­ral districts in Johor.

Johor MACC director Datuk Simi Abdul Ghani confirmed the arrest.

He said the suspect would be brought to the court for a remand order to detain him further as part of the probe.

Earlier this month, the MACC arrested two senior office bearers of two government-linked companies over suspected abuse of power and corruption.

Cash and other assets worth millions were seized and bank accounts frozen.

Last week, a federal agency director and two contractors were also detained.

The contractors had been released but the director was re-arrested to assist in a money-laundering probe.

By Simon Khoo The Star/Asian News Network

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Canny Ong murder case remember? Killer Ahmad Najib finally hanged at Kajang prison

Ahmad Najib Aris (center). - Filepic

PETALING JAYA: After spending 11 years on death row and having exhausted all his appeals, Ahmad Najib Aris (pic) was finally executed for the 2003 murder of Canny Ong.

The former aircraft cabin cleaning supervisor, who killed Ong after abducting her from a shopping complex in Bangsar, was hanged early yesterday.

A Kajang prison spokesman said Ahmad Najib, 40, was executed at about 6am and his body was later buried at the Sungai Kantan Muslim cemetery in Kajang.

He said Ahmad Najib was allowed to meet his family members for the last time on Thursday.

Ahmad Najib’s former lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla described him as a “good Muslim” while in jail.

He said prison officials had told him that Ahmad Najib became a good Muslim, and often led prayers in jail and also taught other inmates about religion.

“To me, at least the time he was in prison, he was a better person than many outside,” he told The Star.

Ahmad Najib was sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court on Feb 23, 2005, for murdering Ong, then 28, at the 11th kilometre of Jalan Klang Lama between 1am and 5am on June 14, 2003.

He was also given the maximum jail term of 20 years and ordered to be given 10 strokes of the rotan for raping Ong.

In March 2009, the Federal Court upheld his death sentence for the crimes committed against Ong, whose charred remains were found in a manhole near a highway construction site.

Ong, an IT-analyst living in the United States with her husband Brandon Ong, was back in Malaysia to visit her ailing father.

On June 13, 2003, a day before she was due to return to the United States, Ong went out for dinner with some family members and close friends at the Bangsar Shopping Complex.

After the meal, she went to the basement car park to retrieve the parking ticket from her car. She asked her mother and sister to wait for her by the autopay machine.

Ong never returned.

After waiting for 20 minutes, Ong’s mother Pearly Visvanathan Ong and her sister decided to look for her in the car park.

When they went down they found the car, a purple Proton Tiara, missing.

Sensing something bad had happened to her daughter, Pearly ran to the mall’s security office to view the CCTV tapes.

The tapes confirmed their worst fears. They saw Ong being abducted by a man who drove off with her in her car, crashing past the exit barrier of the car park.

Days later, Ong’s charred remains were found in a manhole along Old Klang Road in Kuala Lumpur.

Forensic and criminal investigators found evidence that led to the arrest of Ahmad Najib.

The news of Ong’s murder was covered widely by the media and followed intently by the public.

The randomness of the crime – Ahmad Najib had no apparent motive – made it all the more horrific and prompted many unsolicited and baseless conspiracy theories much to the dismay of Ong’s loved ones.

by Jastin Ahmad Tarmizi The Star/Asia News Network

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Islamic State terror attacks on eve of Malaysia's National Day foiled

End of the road: Bukit Aman anti-terror officers arresting the butcher in Temerloh (above) before going after the student in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: The Star/ Asia News Network

KUALA LUMPUR - For months, the three men laid low, going about their daily routine while waiting for the signal to attack to come from Syria.

When at last the instruction came from notorious Islamic State (IS) militant Mohamad Wanndy Moha­mad Jedi at the end of July, the men quickly started gathering arms and putting together a chilling plan.

They were going to attack on the eve of National Day when the rest of their countrymen were celebrating what it meant to be Malaysians and among their targets are a temple in Batu Caves, the Kajang police headquarters and various entertainment outlets.

The men were in the last phase of their plans - even going to the extent of monitoring their targets - when the Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division moved in on them.

Anti-terror officers detained the men - a 20-year-old contractor, a 27-year-old butcher and a college student, also 20 - in Selan­gor, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur between Aug 27 and 29.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said all the planning and logistics had been masterminded by Mohamad Wann­dy, who appeared to be pulling the strings among the network of IS militants here.

"They were taking orders from him," he said in a statement yesterday.

Sources revealed that the contractor was arrested on Aug 27 when officers raided his home in Sungai Merab Luar in Kajang.

"We seized a K75 grenade and a CZ 2075 RAMI pistol along with 24 .9mm bullets. We believe he obtained the weapons from a middleman," said Khalid.

The man was believed to have picked up the weapons from a drop-off location at a cemetery in Damansara at about 9pm in late July.

"It was no doubt arranged by Mo­hamad Wanndy. Authorities believe that militants from another cell supplied the weapons and placed them at the drop-off point.

"Militants from different cells often do not know each other to reduce the risk of being tracked by the authorities," a source said.

It is learnt that the butcher was detained in Kampung Paya Kecil in Temerloh, Pahang, while the college student was picked up from his home in AU3, Keramat, in the city.

"The other two did not have weapons with them but authorities believe they were waiting for supplies," added the source.

Authorities are also not ruling out the possibility that one of the men could have been tasked to pick up a ready-made Improvised Explosive Device.

"Some of their targets were police patrol units in Kajang. The authorities believe that Mohamad Wanndy really wanted his cell members to carry out a big attack on the eve of National Day.

Malaysia's National Day Parade kicks off Photo Source: The Star/ANN: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and other VIPs are seen here on the main stage during the National Day celebration at Dataran Merdeka.

"He wanted to make a big impact as he was not satisfied with the scale of the Movida bomb attack," a source said.

It is learnt that the three men had been communicating with Moha­mad Wanndy since January but the order to attack was only given on July 30 once they had gotten hold of the explosives and ammunition.

It is also believed that they were planning to escape to Thailand before eventually making their way to Syria, where they are expected to meet Mohamad Wanndy.

With the grenade seized in this latest case, this brings to seven the number of those still unaccounted for after the Movida attack on June 28.

The first known IS attack on home soil injured several people after a grenade was thrown at the Movida Restaurant in Puchong.

Four people are expected to be charged in various courts in Johor for abetting in the bombing of Movida today.

With the latest arrest, the number of militants detained since 2013 has risen to 239 and the attacks foiled to date, 13.

When police detained nine IS mi­­li­­tants in early August, three of them - two were involved in the Mo­­vida bombing - had also been taking orders from Mohamad Wanndy.

They were ordered to launch another attack against an entertainment outlet in Johor.

Mohamad Wanndy has emerged to be the main influence on the IS militant network in the country, with people caught following his orders and raising funds.

By Farik Zolkepli The Star/Asia News Network

A-G should not lead both services, it's long overdue!

Otherwise, it will create a negative perception of judiciary's independence, says CJ

https://youtu.be/rKJy0vpNVlA

KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney-General must stop leading the Judicial and Legal Service Commission to ensure that the judiciary can be seen as a truly independent body, says the Chief Justice.

The head of the judiciary, Tun Arifin Zakaria, said that it would be a conflict of interest for the A-G to lead both services as he was a member of the Executive, when judicial officers comes under the judiciary.

In a democracy, the three branches of Government – the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary – must remain independent of each other.

“If the A-G continues to lead both services, I worry it would create a negative perception of the judiciary’s independence, an opinion many parties share,” said Arifin in a speech at the Judicial Officers Conference here yesterday.

The Chief Justice’s call is in line with the universal concept of judicial independence, whereby the courts should not be subject to undue influence from other branches of the Government or persons with partisan interests.

In an immediate reaction, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Apandi Ali confirmed that the A-G’s Chambers (AGC) had received the proposal and was still studying it from the point of view of the Constitution and from a historic perspective.

“We will come up with the AGC’s views and discuss it at our next Legal and Judicial Service Commission’s meeting before the end of the year,” he told The Star.

Currently, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission managed the careers – from appointing, promoting, transferring and disciplining – of its members, which includes judicial officers like Sessions Court judges and magistrates, and legal officers like deputy public prosecutors and senior federal counsels.

Later, during a press conference, Arifin said people who disagreed with a judgment might say the magistrates were toeing the line with the A-G’s Chambers as they were effectively the same body.

“Imagine if a senior officer from the AGC or even the A-G himself was prosecuting. Lagi menggeletar (they’ll be even more nervous) to handle the case,” he said.

Arifin said Public Service Circular 6/2010 which made the A-G the chief of the judicial service was a contradiction to an existing decision by the Federal Court and no longer relevant

He pointed out that when the Commission was formed, the two groups were placed together as there were only a few hundred staff members. However, there were now 636 employees in the legal service and 4,787 serving in the judicial service as of April this year.

“The time has come for the judicial service to be lead by an someone from within its ranks,” he said, adding that such a candidate would be better equipped to run the service.

Arifin suggested that the Chief Court Registrar lead the judicial service while the Attorney-General lead the legal service.

The separation would also stop judicial officers and legal officers from being transferred between departments, unless the move is approved in writing by their chiefs.

However, Arifin said transfers should still be allowed, with due process, to ensure staff get experience as both judges and prosecutors.

Chief Registrar Datin Latifah Mohd Tahar, who also attended the conference, told reporters the paper on the proposal had been submitted to the Commission and the matter could be decided on within the year.

In 2006, the then Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said the Judiciary intended to propose to the Government to abolish the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

He added that magistrates and Sessions Court judges should be absorbed into the judiciary, fearing that there would be interference by “unseen hands” if they remain as civil servants.

by Chelsea L.Y. Ng and Qishin Tariq The Star/Asia News Network

It’s about time, says thelegal fraternity of proposal

PETALING JAYA: The legal fraternity applauded the Chief Justice’s proposal for greater separation between judicial and legal services, calling it long overdue.

Former Court of Appeals Justice Mah Weng Kwai (pic) said the proposal finally presented a clear demarcation between the judicial and legal services.

“It has been a combined service for the longest time, since before I joined the service in 1973,” said Mah, who started his career as a magistrate before becoming a deputy public prosecutor and then senior federal counsel.

Responding to the Chief Justice’s suggestion that officers would still be allowed to be transferred between the services, Mah said it should be taken one step further with both services completely independent and non-transferable.

Former magistrate Akbardin Abdul Kader said, if implemented, the move would ensure former DPPs were not biased when they were elevated to the bench.

“Hence, they will remain as DPPs until they retire and so the same for judicial officers,” he said.

Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru said the Chief Justice’s concerns were valid and deserved due consideration.

He said the fact the Attorney-General was a member of the commission could open the judiciary to questions in any decision in favour of the prosecution.

He noted that the proposal would appear to require a constitutional amendment that would place Sessions Court judges and magistrates under the sole jurisdiction of the judiciary, and no longer under the Commission.

“This strengthens the concept of separation of powers that vests judicial power in the judiciary and requires the exercise of those powers without any influence by the other arms of Government,” he said, adding that the removal of any conflict of interest would inspire more confidence in the decisions of Sessions Court judges and magistrates.

Former Malaysian Bar president Yeo Yang Poh said the Bar had called for the change for decades, adding that from time to time, a Chief Justice of the day would “warm up” to the idea.

In 2006, when Yeo was serving as president, Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim made a similar call for a separation of the judiciary from the commission.

Yeo added that it was the first time he had heard of a proposal being handed to the commission by the Chief Registrar.

He said having the judicial and legal services combined was not desirable for two reasons: in practical terms, not every one could be fearless; while in theory, even if all legal officers could overcome the pressure, there would still be the perception of impartiality.

“You can’t blame an observer that perceives something is not quite right. A judge could say they would remain impartial even if judging their father; but does it look right?” he asked.

A former officer from the Judicial And Legal Services, who declined to be named, said the risk of transfers were a common reality.

“We used to threaten judges up to the Sessions Court (level), if they misbehave, we will get them transferred as DPPs. A few of them were actually transferred,” he said.

He said though the “threats” were in jest, it shocked him that they were sometimes really carried out, adding that not all moves were sinister, as it was occasionally meant as a lesson for subordinate courts which had made errant judgments.

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FireEye threats of cyber espionage loom with the coming 26th Asean Summit in Malaysia

Photo by hfuchs/Relaxnews.

PETALING JAYA: Regional government and military officials, businessmen and journalists involved with the coming 26th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur could be among the targets of a recently discovered cyber espionage group, claims an Internet security firm.

 

https://www.fireeye.com/

FireEye, which exposed the presence of the APT30 group of hackers snooping on governments and businesses, including those in South-East Asia, said some of its previous attacks had been launched before key Asean meetings.

“Based on previous experience, I believe that this group and possibly others will try to use that meeting (26th Asean Summit) as part of their ruse to potentially target businesses and governments in the region,” said Bryce Boland, FireEye’s chief technology officer for Asia Pacific in a telephone interview here yesterday.

In its report, FireEye, which is based in the United States, said APT30 had a distinct interest in organisations and governments associated with Asean.

The group had released a malware in the run-up to the 18th Asean Summit in Jakarta in 2011 and the Asean-India commemorative Summit in 2012.

One of the domain names it used to command its malware was aseanm.com

AFP had reported that the APT30 group was “most likely sponsored by China” and that there was no immediate reaction from the Chinese government, which had always denied allegations of cyber espionage.

The two-day Asean Summit from April 26 is expected to discuss various issues, including maritime disputes between China and Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea, and the formation of a single market and production base in the region.

“The hackers are after intelligence and information, primarily about political changes, political positions, especially over disputed territories, border disputes and trade negotiations,” said Boland.

“We have also seen that when they target journalists, they are specifically looking for information in relation to understanding concerns about the legitimacy of the PRC (People’s Republic of China),” he said.

The group has also attacked businesses to steal information on deals, manufacturing plans and intellectual property such as schematic diagrams.

According to the FireEye report, Malaysia is one of seven countries with targets hit by the group, which has operated largely undetected for the past 10 years.

Others are Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, India and the United States.

Boland said the group mostly attacked their targets via spear phishing emails with attachments that appeared to be from a known contact but were in reality sent by the hackers.

The attachment, which can be in the form of a document with an Asean-related title, will contain a customised malware that is activated the moment that it is opened.

It allows the attacker to gain control of the victim’s computer and retrieve information from it.

Boland advised computer users not to open suspicious e-mails.

“Businesses and governments should ensure that their IT infrastructure not only protects them from attacks but can detect the extent of damage done in the event of a successful hack.”

By Razak Ahmad The Star/Asia News Network


Related:

 FireEye: Cyber Security & Malware Protection

Youth addicted to computer games died in front of his computer!

 

Ong Yee Haw, 23, (pic) was found slumped over the keyboard in front of his computer monitor in a room by his uncle at about 4pm.

 GEORGE TOWN: A youth addicted to computer games died of a heart attack at his home in Bandar Baru Air Hitam here after apparently playing continuously for over 15 hours at a cybercafe nearby. 

He was said to have been at the cybercafe from 10pm on Sunday until 1pm the next day before returning home to his own computer.

However, it was not known which computer game Ong had been playing before his death.

His mother Chew Qun Juan, 62, said her only son had been addicted to computer games ever since he stopped working at a restaurant five months ago following a motorcycle accident.

“He injured his right hand and had to stop working. I constantly told him not to spend too much time on computer games but he never listened.

“I single-handedly raised him after my husband died of cardiac arrest 15 years ago. Words cannot describe my sadness now. I only hope that others, who are also addicted to computer games, will learn something from this.

“I hope this will not happen to anyone else. My son was still so young,” she said in between tears when met at the Penang Hospital mortuary yesterday.

A post-mortem report, she said, confirmed that Ong died of a heart attack.

Ong was cremated at the Batu Gantung crematorium yesterday afternoon. The case has been classified as sudden death.

On Dec 27 last year, a 35-year-old broker was found dead inside his home, supposedly after playing video games.

A video game console was found in front of Liu Peng Han’s body. When his body was discovered by his uncle, Liu was lying on the sofa in the living room.

There had also been several media reports of deaths due to computer addiction in China, South Korea, Vietnam and the United States.

It was reported that in 2005, a man in South Korea went into cardiac arrest and died after playing StarCraft almost continuously for 50 hours. Two years later, a 30-year-old man in Guangzhou died after playing video games continuously for three days.

Contributed by Winnie Yeoh The Star/Asia News Network

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Genneva gold investment firm slapped with 926 charges

KUALA LUMPUR: Six senior officers from controversial gold investment company Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd were slapped with more than 900 counts of money laundering, illegal deposit-taking and false advertising involving an alleged sum of RM5.5 billion.

Company director Datuk Phillip Lim Jit Meng, 57, was charged with 246 counts of money laundering allegedly committed at CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd in Jalan Kuchai Lama between January 2011 and last December.

Jit Meng, who represented two companies — Genneva Malaysia and Success Altitude Sdn Bhd—was charged with 222 counts in his capacity for the first company and eight counts for the second company.

Another director, Datuk Tan Liang Keat, 41, was charged with 226 counts. Company advisers Datuk Ng Poh Weng, 63, was charged with 155 counts, Datuk Chin Wai Leong, 37, with 23 counts and Datuk Marcus Yee Yuen Seng, 61, with 17 counts. General manager LimKah Heng, 42, was charged with 16 counts of money laundering.

They allegedly committed the offences at the same time and same place. At the same court, Genneva Malaysia, Jit Meng, Tan and Kah Heng were also charged with receiving deposits from the public without a  licence via a scheme involving gold transactions at CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd, Jalan Kuchai Lama, between Jan 10, 2011, and Oct 1 last year.

Ng was also charged with abetting them.

Deputy public prosecutor Dzulkifli Ahmad proposed that bail be denied as it was a non-bailable offence.

"However, if the court allows bail, the prosecution would like to suggest that each accused be allowed bail of RM5 million. This case involves approximately RM5.5 billion in investments from 35,000 depositors."

Dzulkifli said the bail amount should reflect the severity of the offences.

In pleading for a lower bail, defence counsel A.S. Dhaliwal said the fixed deposits of all the accused had been frozen by Bank Negara since last year.

He proposed bail be set at RM50,000 for each accused.

Judge Mat Ghani Abdullah allowed bail at RM1 million for each of the accused. He also ordered them to surrender their passports.

The judge fixed an additional RM100,000 in two sureties for offences under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.

Ghani allowed the prosecution's application for a joint trial and fixed April 7 until 24 next year to hear the case.

Dzulkifli informed the court that the prosecution would call about 50 witnesses to the stand.

Datuk Philip Lim Jit Meng.

Its directors Datuk Philip Lim Jit Meng and Datuk Tan Liang Keat faced 246 and 226 counts of money laundering respectively; business advisers Datuk Ng Poh Weng (155), Datuk Marcus Yee Yuean Seng (17), Datuk Chin Wai Leong (23), and general manager Lim Kah Heng (16).

All six claimed trial to the charges.

The company itself, Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd, faced 222 counts of money laundering and Success Attitude Sdn Bhd, eight counts.

Four of them, Philip Lim, Tan, Hah Heng and Ng, were also charged under the Banking and Financial institutions Act 1989 with two counts each of accepting deposits without a valid licence via a scheme involving gold transactions.

Earlier, Philip Lim and Tan pleaded not guilty at another Sessions Court to making a false statement in an advertisement on the company's website, saying its gold trading was in accordance with Islamic law.
Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd also faced a similar charge.

The case has been set for mention on Oct 28 and the two were granted bail of RM20,000 each.

Contributed by PUNITHA KUMA NST;  M.MAGESWARI and Maizatul Nazlina The Star/Asia News Netowork

China's 'most dangerous man' shot dead near mum's home

After an eight-year manhunt across four provinces involving tens of thousands of police officers, China's most-wanted criminal was shot dead yesterday, 14 kilometres from his mother's home.

Zhou Kehua, 42, was cornered in an alley behind a shoe shop in the central city of Chongqing and opened fire. He was shot in the head at close range. At least one policeman was "lightly injured" in the gun battle.

After so many murders, he knew he would get the death penalty, so there was no moral struggle in his mind. 

Zhou had been on the run since 2004, evading capture despite being the target of one of the largest manhunts mounted in China.

Eight years on the run ... Zhou Kehua appears on a wanted poster. Photo: AFP

By the end, the combined value of all the rewards placed on his head had risen to 5.4 million yuan ($AU800,000) and wanted posters had been pinned up as far afield as Shanghai, more than 1600 kilometres from his home.

Gun crime is extremely rare in China, where firearms are strictly controlled, but Zhou had killed a total of nine people, including one policeman, in a series of armed robberies.

He went for bank customers withdrawing large sums of cash, following his victims and shooting them in the head before making a swift getaway.

"He remained very calm after the murders and would decide the quickest way to escape," said Pi Yijun, a criminologist at China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. "He would do his homework by staying at a bank and observing its customers, working out the best place to strike. After so many murders, he knew he would get the death penalty, so there was no moral struggle in his mind."

Zhou would lie low for long periods, disappearing at one stage for more than four years, between 2005 and 2009.

He resurfaced last Friday for the first time since January, killing a woman outside a branch of the Bank of China in Shapingba, a district of Chongqing.

The local authorities quickly mounted an enormous manhunt, calling back all police on leave and mobilising the local army. However, after combing Gele Mountain, only a ragged green T-shirt and two cigarette cartons were found. China Central Television (CCTV) said it was thought that the manhunt, which was widely publicised in the media, had been a ruse to give Zhou a false sense of security.

In fact, he had been spotted in a department store in Chongqing on August 11, leading police to believe he had remained close to the scene of his last crime, rather than retreating to his mountain hideout.

Quietly, four-man teams of plain-clothes police moved through the city to track him down. Eventually a resident in Tongjiaqiao, near his mother's home, reported him to the police yesterday morning, collecting a 600,000 yuan reward. Zhou's father died last August, but his mother lives in a three-storey house and has been under constant surveillance since January.

His ex-wife lives in a neighbouring town with their 13-year-old son. Zhou is thought to have visited them at the beginning of the year after committing a murder and stealing 200,000 yuan in Nanjing.

Two Chinese newspapers disputed the account of Zhou's final moments.

The Chongqing Times said he had committed suicide and the police had merely found his body.

The Changsha Evening News, however, said that he had turned the gun on himself after being shot twice by police.

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Beware the smash and grab robbers

PETALING JAYA: Smash and grab robbers are among the criminal threats faced by the average Malaysian driver today.

These menace on wheels prey on drivers when they stop at traffic light junctions by smashing the passenger side window of the car and grabbing valuables placed on the passenger seat.

Despite it not being a new ploy, people still continue to fall victim to such smash and grab robbers.

Statistics released by the Royal Malaysian Police showed that smash and grab cases are still contributing to the national crime index.

“Smash and grab cases which are classified as snatch theft cases, are a part of the 319 cases of snatch thefts recorded in May and June this year,” said the report.

The reason for this, said Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed, is that most people do not take the necessary steps to protect themselves from smash and grab robbers.

“The obvious one is that people should not place valuables like mobile phones and handbags on the passenger side seat while driving.

“However, there are still many who place valuables on the passenger side seat and make themselves easy targets,” he said recently.

ACP Arjunaidi said it was important for the people not to panic.

“Drivers have to be vigilant at all times and should not panic no matter what happens, so that they know how to respond to a situation,” he said.

Citing a videoclip he was shown recently of a man smashing a car window about 10 times without breaking the glass, he said the woman driver just stared blankly at the man.

“If she was alert and had not panicked, she could have shielded herself from harm and called the police or gone to a safe place,” he said.

He also said basic steps like always being aware of one’s surroundings and keeping valuables out of plain sight helped.

“Tinting windows can also help because the film could prevent the window from shattering easily which would hinder the thieves,” he said.

By M. KUMAR kumar@thestar.com.my The Star/Asia News Network

Related:

Be Alert and Vigilance to Stay Safe!

Lawyer fleeced millions from victims in property scam

Lawyer on the run

 KUALA LUMPUR : A 44-year-old lawyer is said to be on the run with millions of ringgit from a get-rich-quick scheme involving properties in the Klang Valley.

The man is alleged to be the mastermind behind a syndicate which had duped more than 500 investors nationwide into parting with between RM25,000 and RM80,000 each under a racket similar to the Ponzi scheme.

Over the short span of about a year that the scheme was active, the syndicate also took ownership of more than 200 properties mainly apartments and flats units worth about RM15 million under the lawyer’s name and several of his proxies.

According to sources, the syndicate had offered a list of properties it owned to investors for low prices on a deal to help them re-sell it at much higher prices.

Upon the victims picking the property of their choice and settling payment in full, the syndicate produced fake sale-and-purchase and ownership documents.

With the dud documents, the victims were given the notion that they were the new owners of the property and were assured of earning rental income from it until it is sold at a profit.

Police learnt that the ownership of the properties never changed hands and went on to remain in the names of the syndicate members.

The “sold” properties were then “resold” several times again to other potential investors who were also given fake ownership documentation.

Last year, several investors who realised they had been fleeced by the syndicate lodged police reports at the Brickfields police station.

An investigation was initiated by the police Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) after elements of fraud and illegal deposit-taking was found in the case.

On getting wind that the authorities were looking for him, the lawyer, his accomplices and proxies fled the country together with their ill-gotten gains.

Earlier this year, the Special Task Force (Operations and Terrorism) Department’s anti-money laundering branch was roped in to assist in the probe.

After months of painstakingly compiling a list of the said properties, the investigation team obtained a court order two weeks ago to seize 79 flats and apartment units out of the 188 police had identified.

Federal special task force director Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Fuzi Harun told theSun that police have sought the help of Interpol to track down the mastermind and his accomplices.

“Most of the victims were retirees and senior citizens from the middle and low-income groups who lost either a large portion or all of their life savings.

“When we checked, several dozens of the ‘houses’ sold by the syndicate did not even exist or were not up for sale at all. The victims did not appear to own any of the properties.

“They were merely given falsified and fake documents. We have identified 188 and seized 79 properties so far but we believe there are more out there which we are trying to trace, he said, adding that Malaysian police have alerted Interpol to be on the lookout for the suspects who have gone into hiding overseas.

Mohamad Fuzi said police believe there are hundreds of people who have been fleeced in the racket and have yet to lodge police reports.
He advised them to come forward to assist police investigations.

The case is being probed as cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code while the seizure of properties were made under Section 41 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (Amla).

Charles Ramendran newsdesk@thesundaily.com 

http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/lawyer_on_the_run.html