24/03/2025

MONDAY | MAR 24, 2025

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Police probe threats to Indonesian magazine

prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam amounted to US$27 billion: equivalent to around 6% of the country’s 2023 GDP. Lan owned just 5% of shares in SCB on paper, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90% through family, friends and staff. Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money. – AFP Four killed in South Korea wildfires SEOUL: At least four people have died, six others have been injured and around 1,500 residents evacuated as wildfires, fuelled by strong winds, swept through parts of South Korea’s southeastern region. The fires began in Sancheong County, about 250km southeast of Seoul, on Friday and quickly spread to neighbouring areas. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, all fatalities were reported in Sancheong. Of the six injured, five sustained serious injuries. Lee Han Kyung, deputy chief of the disaster control tower, has ordered all available firefighting resources to be mobilised to contain the blazes. “Wildfires are rapidly spreading to broader regions due to dry weather, threatening people’s lives,” Lee said during a disaster response meeting, pledging full efforts to bring the situation under control. – Bernama Since Feb 13, the Expert Version has entered operation and taken part in over 10 multidisciplinary consultations. Its diagnostic alignment with expert decisions reached 95%. Developed by the hospital in collaboration with two technology companies Baichuan AI and Xiaoerfang, the AI child doctor stems from a tripartite partnership established on Aug 28, 2023, which aims to advance paediatric AI models and expand equitable access to high quality child healthcare through innovative technologies. – Bernama AI child doctors to enter more hospitals BEIJING: An artificial intelligence (AI) child doctor is expected to enter more grassroots hospitals in China, as it has won widespread recognition since its debut at Beijing Children’s Hospital last month. The hospital unveiled the country’s first paediatric large-scale AI model under the name Futang·Baichuan this week, introducing two AI-powered applications: the AI Paediatrician Basic Version and the Expert Version. The applications will be deployed in medical centres and community hospitals across Beijing as well as over 150 county-level hospitals in Hebei Province, according to the developer. The model features a robust knowledge system for common and rare childhood diseases, leveraging paediatric “evidence-based medicine” to generate personalised diagnosis and treatment plans. Trained on clinical expertise from more than 300 renowned specialists at the hospital and decades of high-quality medical records, it excels in clinical reasoning, multi-model processing and multi-round chatting. When interacting with patients’parents, it can autonomously conduct inquiries and engage in communication patiently. “The Basic Version targets daily pediatric care, empowering grassroots clinicians, while the Expert Version addresses complex and rare diseases to enhance decision-making efficiency,” said Beijing Children’s Hospital head Ni Xin. Ni gave an example. The Basic Version can differentiate early symptoms of viral encephalitis – often mistaken for the common cold – to prompt timely testing and reduce misdiagnosis risks.

o Undeterred weekly stays its course

“As a former journalist, I deeply regret any threats to press freedom. “We fully support this case being investigated and legally processed by the police,” she said. Indonesian journalists continued to face significant threats and persistent challenges to press freedom last year, as highlighted by the Journalist Safety Index. This index, compiled by the TIFA Foundation in collaboration with the Indonesian Media Development Association, the Human Rights Working Group and research partner Populix, surveyed 760 journalists across the country. The findings revealed that 24% of journalists experienced terror and intimidation, 23% received direct threats, 26% faced bans on news reporting, and 44% encountered reporting restrictions. Tempo has published in recent weeks stories criticising Prabowo’s policies, including widespread budget cuts that stoked protests last month. The magazine was banned twice, lastly in 1994, under Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades. It resumed publication after his downfall in the late 1990s. Prabowo was once married to Suharto’s daughter and is accused of ordering the disappearance of democracy activists near the end of his rule, which he denies. – Bernama/AFP

office by a cleaner in the morning. Setri said the deliveries sought to undermine the publication’s work but added it would remain committed to its mission. “If the intention is to scare, we are not deterred, but stop this cowardly act,” Setri said in a statement. The Indonesian Press Council condemned the threats, calling them an attack on press freedom. “This is clearly an act of terror and intimidation aimed at instilling fear. Such actions are usually carried out by those who feel cornered but refuse to take responsibility,” said Press Council chairperson Ninik Rahayu. She urged critics of Tempo’s reporting to exercise their right of reply rather than resorting to threats. “This is a dangerous and deliberate act of intimidation,” said Beh Lih Yi, head of the Asia programme at the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Journalists in Indonesia must be able to do their work freely and safely without fear of retaliation.” Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said that press freedom is a fundamental pillar of democracy that must not be compromised. She said President Prabowo Subianto’s administration was committed to protecting freedom of expression and ensuring that public criticism remains part of government policy.

JAKARTA: Indonesian police have launched an investigation after Tempo journalist Francisca Christy Rosana, known as Cica, received a pig’s head in a package, followed by the discovery of six headless rats at the weekly magazine’s office in South Jakarta. National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said he had ordered a full inquiry into the incident. “I have directed the chief of criminal investigation to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident at Tempo ,” he said in a statement. The threats were first reported by Tempo editor-in-chief Setri Yasra to the Indonesian Journalists’ Safety Commission (KKJ) after a package was sent to Cica. On Friday, the KKJ referred the case to the Criminal Investigation Department. Cica, a political desk journalist and host of Tempo’s political podcast Bocor Alus Politik , was the intended recipient of the first package, which contained a pig’s head. It was addressed to her on Wednesday but only reached her a day later, after she had completed her assignment. On Saturday, a second package containing six decapitated rats was found at the Tempo HONG KONG: Visitors to Ocean Park here were allowed to see Hong Kong-born twin giant panda cubs together with their mother Ying Ying from Saturday. Fans of the cubs had come for the moment of maternal affection two hours before the amusement park opened. “Giant panda cubs grow up best nurtured by their mothers. They usually won’t live independently until two to three years old,” said Howard Chuk, head of zoological operations and conservation of Ocean Park Hong Kong. Tagging along with their mother allows the cubs to learn sniffing and other skills humans can’t teach. The male cub followed Ying Ying closely and coyly jollied for her attention until the mother kissed it and licked its tummy. The female cub also got a kiss-on-the-cheek from Ying Ying while resting on a wooden rack. After the cubs frolicked for some time, Ying Ying breastfed them. The park said it would issue 3,000 entrance tickets for visitors to see the giant panda family from 10am every day. On Saturday, all tickets had been distributed by noon. Visitors are allowed three minutes with the Panda cubs meet public under mother’s care

Photographers jostling for a better shot of the cubs and their mother on Saturday. – REUTERSPIC

family in 40-strong groups. The two cubs, which made their public debut on Feb 16 when they turned six months old, now weigh about 12kg each. They are breastfed and bottle-fed. The father Le Le now lives separately from

the family because giant pandas are solitary animals, said the park. Male pandas don’t take care of young offspring. The two cubs’ official names will be unveiled in the first half of the year, chosen from entries for a city-wide naming contest. – Bernama

Vietnamese tycoon appeals life sentence HANOI: The appeal of a Vietnamese property tycoon convicted of money laundering will begin this week three months after losing her appeal against the death penalty in a separate case. Lan appealed that verdict, and the court determined there was no basis to reduce her sentence, but said she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets.

by eight lawyers, news site VNExpress said. The 68-year-old was found guilty of laundering US$17.7 billion and illegal cross border trafficking of US$4.5 billion. She was also found guilty of bond fraud to the tune of US$1.2 billion. Twenty-seven others will also appeal their sentences, state media said. During her first trial in April, Lan was found guilty of embezzling US$12.5 billion, but

Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in April 2024 and sentenced to death for fraud totalling US$27 billion (RM119 billion).

Now, she is appealing the verdict from a second trial in October, in which she was sentenced to life in prison for three crimes. The appeal is scheduled to begin tomorrow and last until April 21, and Lan will be defended