26/03/2026

THURSDAY | MAR 26, 2026

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HK police arrest bookstore owner, staff

THAI TANKER TRANSITS HORMUZ BANGKOK: A Thai oil tanker has safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz following talks between Thailand and Iran, and was not required to pay to escape the blockade, a Thai official said yesterday. The Bangchak Corporation owned tanker crossed the waterway on Monday after successful talks between Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Iran’s ambassador to Thailand. “I requested that if Thai ships need to pass through the strait, could they assist in ensuring safe passage?” he said. “They responded that they would take care of it and asked us to provide the names of vessels.” – Reuters PROBE INTRUSION, SAYS CHINA BEIJING: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Japan conduct an investigation into and severely punish an officer from the Self-Defence Forces who was arrested on suspicion of breaking into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. The suspect, identified by police as 23 year-old Kodai Murata, allegedly scaled the embassy wall carrying an 18cm knife. Minoru Kihara, Japan’s top government spokesperson, called the incident “regrettable” and said the government would take measures to prevent it from happening again. – AFP ROBLOX ADDS NEW CONTROLS JAKARTA: Roblox will introduce controls for players under 16 in Indonesia to comply with its social media block for children, Matt Kaufman, Roblox’s Chief Safety Officer, said. Indonesia will require platforms to deactivate “high risk” social media accounts for under 16s, according to a ministerial regulation. The deactivations are set to take effect on Saturday, said Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid. “To address requirements in Indonesia, we will introduce additional controls on content and communication for players under the age of 16 years old in Indonesia,” Kaufman said. – Reuters MYANMAR MARKS TUBERCULOSIS DAY YANGON: Myanmar marked World Tuberculosis Day 2026 at the Ministry of Health in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday, Global New Light of Myanmar reported. Deputy Health Minister Aye Tun said Myanmar remains among the 30 countries with the highest prevalence of tuberculosis. It has the second-highest incidence of new TB cases in Southeast Asia, highlighting the need to accelerate detection and treatment of the disease. He said Myanmar is implementing measures in collaboration with partner organisations. – Bernama

BR I E F S

o Two other stores close temporarily

Security Chris Tang did not respond to reporters’ questions. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said it was inappropriate for her to comment as someone has already been arrested. Asked whether the arrests could impact public reading habits, Law said “reading will continue to be promoted in Hong Kong”. A notice outside the door of the bookstore read: “Resting for a day due to emergency, sorry for the inconvenience.” Reuters could not immediately reach Pong for comment and could not determine whether Pong or any of the staff had been charged with any offence. Clifford, now based in New York, was a former director of media group Next Digital owned by Lai. In response to questions, Clifford said he was not aware of the arrests, but “if true, it’s a sad and ironic commentary that selling a book on a man who is in jail for his activities as a journalist, for promoting free expression, would be subject to sedition”. Under a local national security law, known as Article 23, sedition is punishable up to seven years in jail

Marcos Jr at a summit meeting earlier this month. The temporary clause under a treaty between the two countries halts the sentence in the Philippines to allow the suspect to be investigated in South Korea, foreign and justice ministry officials in Seoul said. South Korean authorities have said Park, believed to be 47, operated a ring smuggling “large quantities” of illegal narcotics and conspiring with accomplices in the country to distribute them. Justice Ministry and police officials declined to comment on the scale or value of Park’s alleged drug trade. Some South Korean media reported he had been distributing about 60kg of methamphetamine a month with street value of 30 billion won (RM79 million). Illegal drug use in South Korea has steadily grown despite a tough anti drugs policy and crackdown on illicit drug imports and sales. Lee said the country “will chase anyone harming the country to the end of the earth”. It was important to ensure Park was investigated and faces trial in South Korea so his alleged involvement in illegal activities while under incarceration abroad does not become an example for potential copycat criminals, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Park had broken out of Philippines prison twice taking advantage of inadequate inmate supervision that allowed some prisoners to use smuggled mobile phones and continue illegal activities, Justice Ministry official Lee Ji-yeon and police official Yoo Seung-ryeol told a briefing. – Reuters and a maximum of 10 years if the act involves collusion with an “external force”. Beijing imposed broader and more sweeping national security legislation on the city in 2020. Hong Kong and Chinese officials said new laws were needed to bring stability after months of pro democracy protests rocked the city in 2019. Two other independent stores announced temporary closures yesterday as word spread of the arrests among readers and supporters who said the booksellers have become vital outlets for civil society by hosting book talks and workshops. A loose network of stores seeks to offer a broader range of political and social titles than those found in mainstream stores, some of which are controlled by state-owned Sino United Publishing. In January, Pong pleaded not guilty to three charges of operating an unregistered school after he held a Spanish class at the bookstore last year. The case is ongoing. On Instagram last year, Book Punch said it had cancelled several activities due to anonymous complaints. – Reuters

HONG KONG: Police here arrested a bookstore owner and three shopkeepers on Tuesday for allegedly selling “seditious” publications including a biography of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai, broadcaster TVB reported. The owner of the Book Punch store Pong Yat-ming and three staff were accused of selling copies of The Troublemaker , a biography of Lai by one of his former business directors, Mark Clifford, TVB reported. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to a 20-year jail term last month for collusion with foreign forces and sedition in the city’s biggest national security case. A police spokesperson, asked about the reported arrests, did not comment directly but said in a statement that police “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law”. Hong Kong’s Secretary for

KABUL: government Tuesday released US detainee Dennis Coyle (pic) after more than a year in detention, but Washington said the move was not sufficient to lift its recent designation of Kabul as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” and called for it to take more action. The Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement authorities here had received a letter from Coyle’s mother requesting her son be pardoned and released on the occasion of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, following which the Supreme Court of Afghanistan “deemed the period of his detention sufficient and decided to release him”. The US government censured Afghanistan earlier this month over its detention of American citizens, with officials warning they could ban US passport holders from travelling to Afghanistan if it did not comply. The State Department’s hostage affairs office said Coyle’s release does not lift the March 9 designation against the government. “While this is a positive step, more work needs to be done,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby and all other unjustly detained Americans. The Afghan government must end its practice of hostage diplomacy.” Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Afghanistan did not detain citizens of any country for political purposes but over violations of its laws, and releases followed the completion of judicial procedures. A senior US administration official said Coyle, 64, was taken from his home in Kabul in January last year and held without charges in near-solitary confinement. His release followed direct action led by Rubio and a unified interagency effort, the official said, and credited the persistence of Coyle’s three sisters, whose advocacy helped drive the effort. – Reuters on Afghan govt releases American detainee The Afghan

Philippines hands over Korean prisoner

SEOUL: police yesterday took into custody an alleged “drug lord” accused of running a narcotics ring in the country from a Philippines prison, officials said yesterday. South Korean

Park Wang-yeol, who was serving a 60-year term for triple homicide, was flown to South Korea yesterday on temporary extradition, after President Lee Jae Myung requested the handover to President Ferdinand

Park ... accused of running a drug ring from prison. – YONHAP/ R EUTE R SPIC