Asia Briefs: 16 arrested after migrant boat stopped off Johor

16 arrested after migrant boat stopped off Johor

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia has arrested 16 members of an alleged people-trafficking syndicate after intercepting a ship carrying 127 Sri Lankan migrants believed to be bound for Australia and New Zealand.

The maritime authorities halted the ship off Johor state last Tuesday, police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said on Saturday.

Those arrested included three Indonesians and four Malaysians aboard a fishing vessel used to transport the migrants from the Johor coast to the tanker.

Another four Malaysians were arrested in Johor Baru, while a fifth was taken into custody in Penang. Four Sri Lankan men were arrested aboard the tanker.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Blasts in two coal mines kill 23 in Pakistan

QUETTA (Pakistan) • Twenty-three people were killed and 11 wounded after gas explosions tore through two neighbouring coal mines in south-western Pakistan, officials said yesterday.

Shortly before midday on Saturday, a build-up of methane caused an explosion and tunnel collapse at a mine in Marwaarh, east of Quetta.

A government official said 16 of the 25 people inside the mine at the time were killed, with the remaining miners rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.

About three hours later, a mine 25km to the west collapsed in similar circumstances, killing seven of the nine miners inside.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Wife of Hanjin-Korean Air boss accused of bullying

SEOUL • South Korean police have begun a formal probe into allegations that the wife of Hanjin Group and Korean Air chairman Cho Yang Ho bullied workers several years ago, Yonhap news agency reported yesterday.

Ms Lee Myung Hee, 69, is accused of assaulting or abusing several workers at a hotel construction site in 2014.

Police launched the investigation into the case last Friday, after collecting information for about two weeks.

Investigators plan to summon Ms Lee for questioning, said Yonhap. Her family has come under public criticism following allegations that her daughter, Cho Hyun Min, assaulted an employee of an advertising agency in March.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 07, 2018, with the headline Asia Briefs: 16 arrested after migrant boat stopped off Johor . Subscribe