Asia Briefs: 49 jailed over deadly blasts at Tianjin port

49 jailed over deadly blasts at Tianjin port

BEIJING • Chinese courts have jailed 49 people over last year's giant explosions in the port of Tianjin that killed 165 people, state media reported yesterday.

The blasts at a chemical warehouse owned by Rui Hai International Logistics sent a huge fireball soaring into the sky and mangled structures kilometres away.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Tsunami victims' kin seek higher damages

TOKYO • The families of pupils from an elementary school who were killed in the 2011 tsunami appealed to a higher court on Wednesday to get higher damages than the 1.4 billion yen (S$18 million) awarded to them by a lower court, Kyodo News reported yesterday.

They are demanding that the Miyagi prefectural and Ishinomaki municipal governments pay a total of 2.3 billion yen in compensation. The tsunami killed 74 pupils at the school, as well as 10 teachers and other officials.


Duterte's critic faces drug, graft complaints

MANILA • A Philippine law enforcement agency filed bribery, graft and drug-related complaints against a senator and former minister yesterday, in the first step towards prosecuting the biggest critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The cases were lodged by the National Bureau of Investigation against Senator Leila de Lima, two former prison officials and a dozen inmates for involvement in the illegal drug trade at a national jail.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 11, 2016, with the headline Asia Briefs: 49 jailed over deadly blasts at Tianjin port. Subscribe