
Brunei cracks down on int'l drug cartel
The local men were recruited as drug couriers smuggling drugs into Europe via Brunei's neighbouring country, NCB said in a press release on Thursday.
According to local daily Borneo Bulletin, those local men earned a total of 21,000 Brunei dollars (US$16,354) from smuggling Cannabis weighing 68 kg worth over a million Euros.
The NCB expressed concern over the troubling trend of Bruneians being recruited for drug smuggling activities and urged them to resist being swayed by the enticing offers from the syndicate. - Xinhua

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The Star
41 minutes ago
- The Star
18-month jail sentence for sandals thief sparks corruption debate in Indonesia
JAKARTA: A North Sumatran man has been handed a prison sentence of 18 months for stealing a pair of sandals from his former boss, prompting a wave of public criticism over what many see as an unequal justice system that punishes the poor more harshly than corrupt elites. Netizens have taken to social media to criticise the verdict, comparing it to cases in which public officials received similar or even lighter sentences for embezzling billions of rupiah in state funds. Last week, the Medan District Court sentenced 32-year-old Nefri Zaldi, a resident of Deli Serdang Regency, to 18 months in prison for stealing a pair of Hermes sandals from the home of his former employer, Siwaji Raja, in an incident that occurred late last year. According to court findings, Nefri and a friend, Andika Gumtom, visited Siwaji's residence on the afternoon of Dec 28, 2024. As they were leaving the property, Nefri took a pair of Hermes sandals from the shoe rack, an act witnessed directly by Andika. Several days later, a witness named Ravindra informed Andika that Siwaji had lost a pair of sandals valued at Rp15 million (US$916). Andika then told Ravindra that he had seen Nefri take the sandals during their visit. The information prompted Siwaji to file a police report, and Nefri was arrested on March 21, and the trial began on June 24. The court ultimately found Nefri guilty of theft on July 29 and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, a lighter sentence than the two years sought by prosecutors. Presiding judge Sarma Siregar cited Nefri's clean criminal record as a mitigating factor. 'However, the defendant's actions have caused financial harm to the victim and disrupted public order,' the judge said during the verdict hearing. During the trial, Nefri admitted to the theft and expressed remorse, asking the court for leniency on the grounds that he is the sole breadwinner for his family. He faced the proceedings without legal representation and stated after the verdict that he was still considering whether to file an appeal against the prison sentence. Deny Marincka, Head of the General Crimes Unit at the Medan District Attorney's Office, acknowledged that an 18-month prison sentence may seem excessive for stealing a pair of sandals. However, he argued that the financial loss suffered by the victim was substantial. 'For example, it's not uncommon for motorcycle thieves to receive two-year prison sentences, even though the value of the stolen motorcycle is sometimes half that of a pair of luxury sandals,' he told The Jakarta Post on Friday. 'Yet the public tends to be more sympathetic when someone is jailed for stealing sandals than for stealing a motorcycle, regardless of the actual value of the items. That's the dilemma prosecutors often face,' Deny added. He also said prosecutors are still deliberating whether to file an appeal, taking into account various factors, including humanitarian considerations. When asked about the relatively harsh sentence given to Nefri compared to the often lighter penalties faced by public officials involved in graft, Deny simply responded that theft and corruption are 'different offences' and declined to elaborate further. Many public officials have received sentences equal to or lighter than Nefri's for graft-related offenses. Last month, seven public officials in Bintan Regency, Riau Islands, were each sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling tourist entrance fees from the Sungai Sebong mangrove tourism area between 2017 and 2024. Their actions caused state losses totalling Rp860 million (US$52,000). In May, a civil servant at the Berau Health Agency in East Kalimantan was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rp50 million for fabricating salary records and embezzling funds, causing the state a loss of Rp1.2 billion. In September of last year, the former head of the South Sumatran Office of the Indonesian Sports Council (KONI) received a one-year prison sentence for embezzling Rp3.4 billion by fabricating events. He was also ordered to repay the misappropriated funds. Zaenur Rohman, a researcher at the Gadjah Mada University Center for Anti-Corruption Studies (Pukat UGM), said that although Nefri's sentence aligns with the penalties outlined in the criminal code for theft, it does not necessarily satisfy the public's sense of justice. 'This disparity is a serious problem because it can undermine the public's sense of justice and weaken the deterrent effect for graft,' he told the Post on Monday. 'That's why penalties for corruption must be much harsher, especially in terms of financial punishment. Instead of focusing primarily on prison sentences, we need to increase fines for graft offenders and ensure the confiscation of their assets, possibly through amendments to the Corruption Eradication Law,' he added. - The Jakarta Post/ANN


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Chinese club Shandong given 2-year ban from Asian club competition after no-show
HONG KONG: Chinese club Shandong Taishan has been banned from Asian club competitions for two years for its no-show against South Korean side Ulsan HD in the Asian Champions League (ACL) Elite in February. The Chinese Super League side pulled out hours before the Feb 19 match, blaming "serious physical discomfort" of players and saying they were unable to form a team. The Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Commission said Shandong would not be able to play in the AFC's club competitions up to and including the 2026/27 season editions and fined the club US$50,000. It also ordered Shandong to return a participation fee of US$600,000 and a performance bonus of US$200,000 to the AFC, along with compensation of US$40,000 to Ulsan "in respect of damages and losses claimed" by the South Korean club. Shandong's pull-out came days after the club said it had banned supporters for "inappropriate behaviour" during a home ACL match against South Korean team Gwangju after fans in the crowd displayed images of South Korea's last military dictator Chun Doo-hwan. Hundreds of people are estimated to have died or gone missing when the South Korean government violently put down the Gwangju uprising by pro-democracy protesters in May 1980, when Chun was the de facto leader of the country after leading a military coup.


The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Two foreign tourists held over robbery targeting money changers in Bali
Tajaddin Hajiyep (seated) and Evgeniy Viktorovich Pak (rear, second right) being paraded in front of the media on July 31 during a press conference in Kuta, Bali. - The Jakarta Post/ANN JAKARTA: Two foreign tourists have been arrested for two alleged robberies targeting money changers on the resort island of Bali. One of the suspects was beaten by a mob after he tried to steal Rp 191,150,000 (US$11,667) from the victim. Police discovered that this was their second such act on the island. The two suspects, Tajaddin Hajiyep, 35, from Azerbaijan and Evgeniy Viktorovich Pak, 36, from Uzbekistan could face a maximum sentence of nine years in prison if found guilty. Kuta Police chief Comr Agus Riwayanto Diputro told a press conference on Thursday (July 31) that the suspects were members of a group targeting money exchange businesses that offer cash on delivery services to hotels or villas. The suspects used false passports when contacting their victims. 'The fake passport was used as identification. This made the victims trust them and agree to bring a certain amount of money to a specific location requested by the perpetrators,' Riwayanto said. He said the suspects had contacted the money changer through the Telegram messaging app and told them he would like to change his crypto worth US$2,350 to rupiah. The suspect asked the money changer to send the money to a villa in the Kuta district, Badung regency. Based on the request, the company sent two staff members to the villa with the money. However, the two were robbed once they arrived. While one of the perpetrators and the two victims were counting the money, the other perpetrator suddenly arrived and grabbed the neck of one of the victims. The other perpetrator then grabbed the neck of the other victim. Both perpetrators told the victims they were from Interpol. 'The victims were in shock, as they said that they were from Interpol,' Riwayanto said. After the assault, the perpetrators ran away with the money. However, the victims chased the perpetrators and hit suspect Hajiyep with a motorbike. The locals in the area managed to nab Hajiyep but not before beating him, causing minor injuries. The other suspect, Pak, was arrested later when he tried to leave the island through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. 'We arrested the other suspect within 24 hours, thanks to our coordination with the Immigration office,' Riwayanto added. The two suspects apparently had committed another crime earlier in Canggu, causing the victim to lose Rp 170 million. 'They came to Bali as tourists but apparently they committed two similar offences during their stay,' Riwayanto said. Police intend to charge the two suspects under Article 365 of the Criminal Code on robbery. I Gusti Ngurah Rai Immigration Office officer Dharma Bayuaji told reporters that the two suspects arrived in Bali in January using tourist visas. Pak had extended his visa online until August, while Hajiyep's visa had already expired. Bayuaji said they both entered Bali using valid passports. - The Jakarta Post/ANN