26/06/2025

THURSDAY | JUNE 26, 2025

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Brazilian hiker found dead after fall at volcano

JAKARTA: A Brazilian tourist who fell down a ravine at an Indonesian volcano popular with hikers has been found dead, the Brazilian government and Indonesia’s rescue agency said on Tuesday, after a days-long search and rescue effort. Attempts to rescue Juliana Marins, 26, who went missing on Saturday at Mount Rinjani on Lombok island, were hindered by challenging weather and terrain after authorities spotted her unmoving body with a drone. “The Brazilian government informs, with deep sadness, the death of Brazilian tourist Juliana Marins, who had fallen from a cliff surrounding the trail near the crater of Mount Rinjani,” the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “At the end of four days of work, hindered by adverse weather, terrain and visibility conditions in the region, teams from the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency found the body of the Brazilian tourist.” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he received the news of Marins’ death “with great sadness”. “Our diplomatic and consular services in Indonesia will continue to provide full support to her family at this time of great pain,” Lula said on X. The head of Indonesia’s National Search and

Rescue Agency, Mohammad Syafii, said rescuers evacuated her body yesterday morning because of bad weather. “One of the rescuers managed to reach the victim at the depth of 600m. Upon checking, there were no signs of life,” he told reporters. “Three rescuers got closer to the victim and confirmed she had died.” An Instagram account providing updates from the Marins family throughout the search effort also said Marins was found unresponsive on Tuesday. “The rescue team managed to reach the place where Juliana Marins was. With great sadness, we inform you that she did not survive,” the account, which amassed more than 1.5 million followers since Marins went missing, wrote in a post on Tuesday evening. “We remain very grateful for all the prayers, messages of affection and support that we have received.” Marins’ last posts on Instagram show her backpacking around Thailand and Vietnam before reaching Indonesia. Lombok is a tourist destination known for its idyllic beaches and lush greenery, and many try to climb Rinjani, Indonesia’s second-tallest volcano, for its panoramic views. – AFP

Rescuers retrieving the body of Marins at Mount Rinjani on Tuesday. – AFPPIC

U.S. MARINE JAILED SEVEN YEARS OVER SEXUAL ASSAULT TOKYO: A Japanese court sentenced a US marine to seven years in prison, a spokesperson for the judiciary said yesterday, in the latest sexual assault case involving American military personnel. Jamel Clayton, 22, who pleaded not guilty, was accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman in her 20s last year in Okinawa. The Naha District Court on Tuesday sentenced Clayton to seven years in jail for “the crime of causing injury by attempting to have non-consensual sexual intercourse”, said a court spokesman. Presiding judge Kazuhiko Obata described Clayton’s behaviour as “so dangerous that it could have threatened her life”. Prosecutors had sought a 10-year prison term. Clayton’s lawyers argued that he had not used physical force against the woman but “only hugged her and left”. – AFP NEW ZEALAND PLAN OUTLINES NEED FOR MORE HOSPITALS WELLINGTON: New Zealand released a draft of a 30-year national infrastructure plan yesterday, which highlighted a need to invest more in hospitals and electricity production and to prepare to spend more on responding to disasters. The plan aims to improve infrastructure preparations and introduce a less politically driven approach to infrastructure investment, which critics say has been impacted by electoral cycles with the stop-start results being costly for large projects. To meet demand, annual capital investment would need to increase from around NZ$20 billion (RM51 billion) today to slightly more than NZ$30 billion by the 2050s. The finalised plan is expected to be released at the end of the year and will be discussed by parliament early next year. – Reuters

Vietnam tycoon escapes death penalty

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sentenced to death for the eight crimes, which also include spying and anti-state activities, before July 1 will have their sentences converted to life imprisonment by the chief judge of the Supreme People’s Court. Public Security Minister Luong Tam Quang said “the current structure of capital punishment was problematic and, in some cases, misaligned with evolving socio economic conditions and the realities of crime prevention”. One of the reasons for the move given by Justice Minister Nguyen Hai Ninh was that in most cases people sentenced to death for the above crimes were not actually executed. The number of executions has not been made public, but Amnesty International estimates more than 1,200 people were on death row in Vietnam by the end of last year. Lethal injection is the only method of execution. – AFP was in touch with local authorities about the case. “We are providing consular support to three British Nationals detained in Indonesia,” said a Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement. The sentence call came as a surprise as Indonesia typically hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling, including the death penalty, and has previously executed foreigners for doing so. However the country has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. – AFP

Lan (pic) , 68, was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which prosecutors said she controlled, and sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling US$27 billion – equivalent to around 6% of the country’s GDP. She appealed the

with state agencies of Vietnam and her partners to find ways to deal with (her) assets and restructure SCB to come to a final solution to the case”. Lan owned just 5% of shares in SCB on paper but courts concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90% through family, friends and staff.

o Hanoi abolishes capital punishment for eight crimes

HANOI: A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totalling US$27 billion (RM114 billion) will no longer face execution, her lawyer said yesterday, as the country abolished capital punishment for eight crimes, including property embezzlement. Property developer Truong My Lan’s lawyer Giang Hong Thanh said that her death penalty “will be converted to life imprisonment. I informed Ms. Lan this morning, she is very happy.” Vietnam yesterday abolished the death penalty for eight crimes including espionage, graft and attempting to overthrow the government.

Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, prompting rare protests in the communist nation. In a separate US$17 billion money-laundering case, Lan had a life imprisonment sentence cut to 30 years on appeal in April. According to the amended penal code approved by the National Assembly Wednesday, the eight crimes no longer punishable by death include property embezzlement and bribe-taking. Under Vietnamese law, those

verdict in a month-long trial, but in December the court in Ho Chi Minh City determined that there was “no basis” to reduce her sentence. But the court said Lan’s sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets. “If Ms Lan compensates for three quarters of the losses along with some other conditions, she will continue to be considered for a further reduction of her sentence,” lawyer Thanh said yesterday. Lan “is still actively cooperating

British trio face jail over Bali drug charges DENPASAR: Prosecutors here said on Tuesday they were seeking one year prison sentences for three British nationals accused of drug offences on Bali, a major reprieve in a country with some of the world’s toughest drug laws. 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later in February. “(Demanding the court) to sentence the defendants to one year in prison and to keep them in detention,” prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara told the district court in Bali’s capital Denpasar.

Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were arrested on Feb 1 after being stopped at Bali’s international airport with 17 packages of cocaine that weighed nearly a kilogramme, according to public court records. They appeared in court alongside Phineas Ambrose Float,

Umbara said that while the defendants were accused of breaking the law, they behaved well in court, acknowledged their wrongdoings and pledged not to repeat their mistakes. The British Foreign Office said it

(From left) Float, Stocker and Collyer in court on Tuesday. – AFP