Latest news with #mischief
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
Five arrested in Kelantan for illegal moneylending, including red paint attacks on borrowers' homes
KOTA BHARU, July 28 — Police have arrested five suspects believed to be involved in illegal moneylending activities, including threats and acts of mischief, such as splashing red paint on borrowers' homes. Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the suspects, aged between 25 and 39, were detained under Op Vulture in separate raids. The first suspect was apprehended on July 23 in Pasir Tumboh, Kubang Kerian, while the other four were arrested on July 25 following a red paint incident in Pasir Hor. Police also seized 34 items believed to have been used in these activities, including red paint, threatening notes, clothing, face masks, mobile phones, and motorcycles. 'Preliminary investigations revealed that all five suspects are believed to be linked to at least nine cases of property damage in Kota Bharu, Tumpat, and Tanah Merah. 'Their actions included breaking window panes with stones, pasting threatening notes, and padlocking borrowers' gates as a form of intimidation,' he said in a statement tonight. Mohd Yusoff said the case is being investigated under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951 and Sections 427/506 of the Penal Code. The suspects have been remanded for further investigations. — Bernama
CTV News
4 days ago
- CTV News
Man pleads guilty to defacing National Holocaust Monument
A former City of Ottawa lawyer pleaded guilty to mischief after the National Holocaust Monument was vandalized in June. CTV's Josh Marano reports.
National Post
4 days ago
- National Post
Former City of Ottawa lawyer pleads guilty to vandalizing National Holocaust Monument
OTTAWA — A former City of Ottawa lawyer has pleaded guilty after defacing Canada's National Holocaust Monument. Article content Iain Aspenlieder, 46, was charged last month with mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct. Article content He appeared in court Friday. Article content Aspenlieder's lawyer Michael Spratt said his client pleaded guilty to one count of mischief for defacing the Holocaust memorial and that the Crown has consented to his release on bail. Article content Article content Spratt said a sentencing hearing is expected sometime in the fall, with the date still to be determined. Article content Article content The lawyer said it's expected that the other charges will be withdrawn at the request of the Crown at the conclusion of the sentencing process. Article content On June 9, the words 'FEED ME' were found scrawled in red paint across the face of the monument in downtown Ottawa. Red paint was also found splashed on other portions of the structure. Article content According to the agreed statement of facts, Aspenlieder was seen on surveillance recordings arriving at the monument just before 3 a.m. on a bicycle. He was carrying red bags and throwing paint on the monument. He left paint cans at the monument, which were collected as evidence. Article content The statement says that when Aspenlieder was arrested at his home on June 27, he was wearing a shirt that had red paint on it and told police: 'I am wearing incriminating evidence.' The next day, Aspenlieder attended a bail hearing while participating in a hunger strike. Article content Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney said in June that he was 'appalled' by the vandalism and that the monument is a space for mourning and remembrance. Article content Article content Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said on social media last month that the person charged was a city employee on leave and he asked city officials to take 'all appropriate action.' Article content Interim city solicitor Stuart Huxley said in an email that the individual is no longer employed by the city. Article content The Ontario Sunshine List says Aspenlieder was a legal counsel for the City of Ottawa making over $148,000 a year. Article content The Law Society of Ontario website says Aspenlieder is 'suspended administratively.' Article content Spratt said in an email that Aspenlieder has 'accepted responsibility for his actions.' Article content 'When he is sentenced later this year, the court will hear that his conduct, while unlawful, was driven by a profound sense of compassion and moral urgency — not by hatred or prejudice,' Spratt said. Article content 'He looks forward to demonstrating that his motivation was rooted in a desire to call attention to human suffering, not to cause harm or spread intolerance.' Article content Spratt said the Crown likely will seek a penitentiary sentence. He said the defence likely will suggest that the time Aspenlieder spent in custody is 'punishment enough for his actions.' Article content
CTV News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Former City of Ottawa lawyer pleads guilty to defacing National Holocaust Monument
The words 'FEED ME' are seen painted in red on the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS) A former City of Ottawa lawyer has pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief to a war memorial in connection with vandalism to the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. The words 'feed me' were painted on the side of the memorial west of downtown Ottawa on June 9. The paint was quickly removed, but the act prompted widespread condemnation from residents, Jewish groups, and political leaders. Ottawa police charged Iain Aspenlieder on June 27 with mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000, and harassment by threatening conduct. The remaining two charges are being withdrawn. The Crown is consenting to his release on bail pending his sentence. Police did not initially release his name in a news release announcing his arrest, but he was identified in court documents. According to the Ontario Salary Disclosure list, Aspenlieder was a 'Legal Counsel' with the City of Ottawa. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said in late June that Aspenlieder had been fired. 'The city's legal department has confirmed that the individual charged, who was on leave at the time of the incident, is no longer employed by the City of Ottawa,' Sutcliffe said on social media. The National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa commemorates the six million Jewish men, women and children who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and the millions of other victims of Nazi Germany and its collaborators. The monument was inaugurated by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in September 2017. With files from CTV News Ottawa's Joshua Marano
CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Former city lawyer who defaced National Holocaust Monument pleads guilty
A former City of Ottawa lawyer has pleaded guilty and will be released on bail after defacing the National Holocaust Monument last month. Iain Aspenlieder, 46, stood in the prisoner's box next to his defence lawyer on Friday afternoon and pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief against a war memorial. He had also been charged with mischief over $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct, but those charges are expected to be withdrawn. Dawn broke on Monday, June 9, to reveal the words "FEED ME" painted in blood-red capital letters on a prominent wall of the monument beside busy Wellington Street. It was an apparent nod to war-torn Gaza, which the United Nations had described as the " hungriest place on Earth" just three days earlier. The vandalism was quickly covered over with a tarp before being pressure-washed off. Two weeks later, Ottawa police announced they had charged a 46-year-old man with mischief to a war memorial, mischief exceeding $5,000 and harassment by threatening conduct. Jewish community was 'distraught and disturbed' Police did not identify the man, but Radio-Canada confirmed it was Iain Aspenlieder, a lawyer for the city who was on leave at the time and is now no longer employed by the city. The Ontario Sunshine List described Aspenlieder's position as "legal counsel." He had appeared on the list, which documents public sector employees with salaries over $100,000, every year since 2016. According to the Law Society of Ontario website, Iain David Aspenlieder is "suspended administratively" and is not permitted to practise law. The law society website does not say when he was suspended. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he was "very disturbed" to learn the man arrested was a city employee on leave. "The National Holocaust Monument is a sacred place in our city, an important place in our city," the mayor said. "And I know that members of the Jewish community were very distraught and disturbed to see it vandalized." A vigil was held at the monument one week after the vandalism.
