09/12/2025

TUESDAY | DEC 9, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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HK lawmakers to drive reform

SEOUL: A woman who blackmailed South Korean football superstar Son Heung-min was handed a four-year jail sentence yesterday. “The Seoul Central District Court gave a four-year term for the defendant surnamed Yang, who is in her 20s, charged with blackmailing,” Yonhap News TV reported. Another defendant, a man identified as Yong, was given a two year term for attempted blackmail. The two have been in custody since May. Yang has been accused of extorting 300 million won (RM821,885) from Son last year by sending him a foetal ultrasound image and threatening to go public with claims that she was pregnant with his child. She reportedly spent the money on luxury and designer goods, according to media reports. This year, she attempted to extort an additional 70 million in collaboration with the second defendant, Yong – prompting the football star to report them to the authorities. Son appeared at a closed trial session and gave testimony as a witness last month. – AFP kidnapper after a raid uncovered decomposed and mutilated corpses, raising suspicions of illegal organ-harvesting. Imo police spokesperson Henry Okoye said the raid was conducted at the Umuhu autonomous community in Ngor-Okpala district following intelligence on the suspect, who has now been declared wanted. “Forensic experts have secured evidence and all accomplices will be brought to justice,”Okoye said after the raid, which included the Imo health commissioner, a pathologist, local officials and vigilantes working with the police. An investigation into suspected organ-harvesting has begun, he said. – Reuters Woman jailed for blackmail FOUR NEPALIS AMONG 25 KILLED IN FIRE NEW DELHI: Four Nepali citizens were among the 25 people killed in a fire at a nightclub in Goa, officials said yesterday, a day after the blaze. “Deeply saddened by the Goa fire tragedy in which 25 people lost their lives, including four Nepali nationals,” Nepal ambassador Shankar P. Sharma said. The rest of the dead were Indian citizens, mainly the nightclub’s staff, as well as holidaymakers from New Delhi. The blaze broke out at a club in Arpora, with officials reporting “electrical firecrackers” had sparked the blaze. Most people died due to suffocation in the basement and kitchen area after wooden parts of the club caught fire. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said that four people had been arrested and had ordered checks on other nightclubs. – AFP ORGAN-HARVESTING RING UNDER PROBE ABUJA: Police in southeast Nigeria’s Imo state sealed a hotel and private mortuary allegedly owned by a suspected

Olympic champion fencer-turned tourism sector representative Vivian Kong. Sunday’s race featured 161 government-vetted candidates and was once again devoid of the two largest pro-democracy parties: the Civic Party disbanded in 2023 and the Democratic Party, which is winding down. Political scientist John Burns said the vote reflects “continuing polarisation” and “the disappointment and anger of citizens on seeing the alleged negligence of the government” over the fire. “The election raises questions about the legitimacy of the post 2021 political system and the stability of Hong Kong,” said Burns, an emeritus professor at the University of Hong Kong. As of Sunday, Hong Kong’s anti corruption watchdog had arrested a total of 11 people for telling others not to vote or to cast invalid ballots. Authorities have also warned against crimes that “exploit the tragedy” and arrested a 71-year-old man for sedition, following earlier

o 11 held over election-related offences

BR I E F S

HONG KONG: City leader John Lee said yesterday that the fresh crop of lawmakers who will take office after the “patriots only” legislative election will drive institutional reform, following the city’s deadliest fire in decades. The finance hub on Sunday held its second contest under electoral rules that Beijing imposed in 2021, which slashed directly elected seats and tightened political vetting for candidates. Some 1.32 million of the 4.14 million registered voters cast ballots, slightly fewer than in the 2021 race. However, the turnout rate edged up from last time’s record-low 30.2% to 31.9% thanks to a smaller population of voters. A government publicity blitz for the election was halted in late November after a blaze tore through the housing blocks of Wang Fuk Court in northern Hong Kong, killing at least 159 people and displacing thousands.

Lee said yesterday those who voted had shown “support for the government’s commitment to recovery and reform following the tragedy, and for electing capable and committed (lawmakers) to drive institutional reform”. The new legislators, expected to start work early next year, will “join hands with the (government) to undertake support and recovery work following the tragedy”, Lee added. A spokesperson for Beijing’s office overseeing Hong Kong affairs hailed the outcome and said the turnout “significantly exceeded” the previous election. “The successful conclusion of this election fully reflects the collaborative, determined and united ‘Lion Rock’ spirit of Hong Kong society,” the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office said in a statement. Newcomers make up just over 40% of the winners, which included

reports of three fire-related sedition arrests. China’s national security agency in Hong Kong summoned representatives from international media for a meeting on Saturday to warn them “not cross the legal red line” during their coverage of the fire and the election. – AFP Kong ... meeting the press yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

New Territories North winning candidate Tam Chun-kwok (third from left) records his victory after results were announced yesterday. – AFPPIC

NSW firefighter struck by a tree dies

SYDNEY: A firefighter was killed on Sunday after he was struck by a tree while trying to control a bushfire that had destroyed homes and burnt large swathes of bushland north of Sydney. Emergency crews rushed to the site near the town of Bulahdelah, 200km north of Sydney, after reports that a tree had fallen on a man. The 59-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and died at the scene. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “terrible news is a sombre reminder” of the dangers faced by emergency services personnel as they work to protect homes and families. “We honour that bravery, every

day,” Albanese said in a statement. A fast-moving fire over the weekend destroyed 16 homes in New South Wales Central Coast region, home to about 350,000 people and a commuter region north of Sydney. Resident Rouchelle Doust, from the hard-hit town of Koolewong, said she and her husband tried to save their home as flames advanced. “He’s up there in his bare feet trying to put it out, and he’s trying and trying, and I’m screaming at him to come down,” Doust told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Everything’s in it: his grandmother’s stuff, his mother’s stuff, all my stuff – it’s all gone.”

Conditions eased overnight, allowing officials to downgrade fire danger alerts, though the weather bureau warned some inland towns in the state could hit more than 40º Celsius today, raising fire dangers. More than 50 bushfires were burning across New South Wales yesterday. In Tasmania, a 700ha blaze at Dolphin Sands, about 150km northeast of the state capital of Hobart, destroyed 19 homes and damaged 40. The fire has been contained, but residents have been warned not to return as conditions remain dangerous, officials said. Authorities have warned of a high-risk bushfire season during

Australia’s summer months from December to February, with increased chances of extreme heat across large parts of the country following several relatively quiet years. In New Zealand, five helicopters and firemen were working to put out a fire near the country’s oldest national park, a month after a wildfire burnt through 2,589ha of alpine bush. Police said they had closed a road near the state highway and advised motorists to avoid the area and expect delays, after the blaze near Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot, spread to 110ha by yesterday afternoon. – Reuters