05/07/2025

SATURDAY | JULY 5, 2025

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Stranded diver recounts trauma of 12-hour ordeal

GEORGE TOWN: A part-time hotel worker pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court yesterday to charges of raping and committing unnatural sex on an Australian woman. S. Prasanth, 25, who made the plea before Judge Juraidah Abbas, requested time to appoint a lawyer to represent him. He is charged with raping the woman in a car and putting the victim in fear by pointing a pair of metal scissors at her at a cemetery in the Mount Erskine Estate between 5.20am and 6am on June 28. The charge, under Section 376(2)(b) of the Penal Code, provides imprisonment of up to 30 years and whipping upon conviction. He is also charged with committing unnatural sex on the woman at the same time and location under Section 377C of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of between five and 20 years and whipping upon conviction. – Bernama Part-time hotel worker charged with rape Police sniff out yaba pills hidden in cow dung PASIR MAS: Police have busted a pil kuda (yaba pills) drug trafficking syndicate and seized more than 35kg of drugs valued at RM5.04 million through six raids in Pasir Mas and Tumpat last Friday. Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department acting director Datuk Mat Zani@Mohd Salahuddin Che Ali said five local suspects – comprising four men and one woman aged between 25 and 39 – were arrested in the operation. Yesterday, the remand of the five suspects, including a married couple, was extended from today until July 11. He said the success followed a year-long intelligence-gathering effort by Bukit Aman’s NCID in cooperation with the Kelantan contingent to combat the syndicate’s activities, believed to have been active since 2022. “In the first raid, NCID intercepted a hatchback on Jalan Gajah Mati, Banggol Chica in Pasir Mas and arrested a 34-year-old male suspect. A search of the vehicle uncovered 115g of yaba pillsand a subsequent search at his home in the same area revealed another 112g of the drug. “Further checks behind the suspect’s house led to a cattle shed containing six cows. Hidden in a pile of cow dung, officers discovered 20kg of yaba pills,” he said during a special press conference at the Pasir Mas district police headquarters on Thursday. Mat Zani added that in simultaneous raids, another male suspect was arrested along with his pickup truck and 15.4kg of yaba pills were seized. – Bernama

KUALA of unlicensed money lenders often find themselves so deeply trapped that they become obedient pawns, forced to commit crimes against other debtors. Some are even coerced into burning down the homes of borrowers who fail to repay their debts, all to protect their own lives and families. Darul Muttaqim Quran and Fardhu Ain Studies Centre head anti-loan shark unit Adam Mustapa revealed that beyond threats, victims are LUMPUR: Victims BATU PAHAT: Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) lecturer Dr Eliza M Yusup, who was stranded for over 12 hours in the middle of the sea during a diving activity on Saturday, said she had to “act like a commando” to survive. The mother of six from Simpang Renggam in Johor said her only lifeline during the ordeal was her buoyancy control device, which allowed her to float to an island called Pulau Tulai. “I am a lecturer, but that night I had to act like a commando. I fought back the panic and kept telling myself to stay strong, knowing I could get through it. All I could think about was my children,” she told Bernama. Eliza, 44, a certified diver, said she had been participating in a fun dive activity and was assisting a female diver who had panicked after swallowing water and was unable to equalise pressure. She took the woman to the surface and helped her onto the boat before continuing her dive after receiving the green light from the boat operator. “But I did not find anyone when I resurfaced. The boat was already far away. I waved and shouted, but no one saw me,” she said. Eliza said the incident happened at 11am and by 7.30pm she was commando’ to remain strong after being left behind in open waters o University lecturer forced to ‘act like a

Eliza after her rescue from the island. She hopes her experience would serve as a reminder to other divers to always adhere to safe diving procedures. – PIC COURTESY OF ROMPIN DISTRICT POLICE HEADQUARTERS

both foreign and local individuals, and often communicates in Indonesian. “Typically, borrowers are asked to repay their loans within four days. After two weeks of non-payment, these groups resort to violent actions, including locking victims inside their homes, splashing paint, circulating copies of their identity cards and in the most extreme cases, burning down houses,” he said. Adam urged the public not to be deceived by easy loan offers, which ultimately lead to severe consequences. – Bernama the investigation was completed. “Out of fear, the victim made 26 online fund transfers into five different bank accounts provided by the suspect between June 26 and June 30, amounting to RM1.24 million. “The woman only began to suspect she had been duped after sharing her predicament with family members, who told her it was a scam. She then lodged a police report to enable an investigation,” he said. – Bernama see was my diving instructor and I broke down in tears when I saw him. Not because of the trauma, but because I felt guilty for troubling everyone,” she said, adding that the experience has not discouraged her from diving again, with her next trip planned for September. She hopes her experience would serve as a lesson to other divers not to be overconfident and to always adhere to safe diving procedures.

recorded loan amount reaching RM70,000, with some cases initially starting with as little as RM150. He claimed these syndicates typically offer loans of RM300 to RM500 but borrowers often receive only about half the amount, with interest based on the full sum. The money is deposited online into the borrower’s account and they are required to periodically send videos of their home location and condition via WhatsApp. He alleged that the syndicate operates from Cambodia, involving The call was then allegedly redirected to a police station in Terengganu, and the victim spoke to another individual posing as a police officer. She was told that her bank account was suspected of involvement in a money laundering case. Mohd Alwi said the “police officer” instructed the woman to surrender all her money for auditing purposes and assured her it would be returned once mineral water bottles and sat under a tree, also looking for fruit but found none,” said Eliza, who has been serving at the UTHM Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering since 2008. At about 7.30am, she spotted a boat and waved and shouted, feeling relieved only once they pulled her aboard. “They gave me water and biscuits. But the one person I was waiting to

forced to carry out criminal acts such as splashing paint and harassing other borrowers who default. “If they are willing to do it, their debt will be reduced little by little. For example, burning down a house might clear RM1,500 from the debt. If the total debt, including interest, reaches RM9,000, how many houses would they need to burn?” he said in a statement. According to Adam, since 2022 his organisation has successfully resolved over 2,000 cases related to illegal money lending, with the highest exhausted and had vomited several times after being tossed about in the water. It was not until 11.30pm that she felt her feet hit something and realised she had reached an island. The next morning, while exploring the island, she came across the word “Tulai” and a bench, which confirmed her belief that the island was frequented by visitors. “I drank water from discarded

Loan shark victims forced to commit crimes against debtors

Stockbroker loses RM1.24 million in phone scam GEORGE TOWN: A female stockbroker has lost RM1.24 million to a phone scam syndicate that claimed she was under investigation for money laundering. was at her office in George Town on June 20, she received a phone call from an unknown number and spoke to a woman claiming to be from Pos Laju Malaysia.

Penang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Northeast district police headquarters received a report from the 47-year-old local woman on Wednesday. “According to the victim, while she

“The caller informed her that a package containing an identity card, ATM card and cheque book had been sent under her name from Kuching, Sarawak to Terengganu, and the package had been detained by police,” he said in a statement.