Yingluck seeks support amid asset freeze

BANGKOK • Former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2014 coup, has called on her supporters for help as the military government "temporarily froze" 37 of her properties and 16 bank accounts.

"My bank accounts have already been confiscated. I would like encouragement from my fans and my Thai brothers and sisters," she said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday.

She is on trial for wasting billions of dollars on a rice subsidy scheme. A verdict is expected on Aug 25.

REUTERS

E-hailing services legalised in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR • E-hailing services are now officially legal in Malaysia.

Parliament yesterday approved such services with the stipulation that operators obtain business licences issued by the Land Public Transport Commission in Peninsular Malaysia, or the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board in Sabah and Sarawak.

Parliament also made it an offence to assault, hinder or obstruct those involved in e-hailing services. Anyone convicted of such offences faces penalties which include a fine of RM1,000 (S$318), imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK