Asia Briefs: Resurgence of diphtheria kills five in Malaysia

Resurgence of diphtheria kills five in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA • Malaysia has recorded 13 confirmed cases of diphtheria so far, with five fatalities, according to health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Malacca had three cases with one death; Kedah six cases with one death, while Sabah had four cases with three deaths, reported the New Straits Times.

The Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia said the resurgence was due to the reluctance of some parents to vaccinate their children.


Policemen arrested over environmentalist's death

BEIJING • Two Chinese police officers acted improperly in the arrest and detention of a well-known environmentalist who died in police custody last month.

The officers had been detained, the official Xinhua news agency reported online yesterday.

Mr Lei Yang, who was accused of visiting a brothel, died of asphyxiation, Xinhua said, though the report did not elaborate on the exact circumstances of his death.

REUTERS


Pilot error caused TransAsia plane crash

TAIPEI • A catalogue of errors led the pilot of a passenger plane that crashed in Taiwan to shut down the only working engine, exclaiming: "Wow, pulled back wrong throttle," said a report released yesterday by Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council.

TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 clipped a bridge and plunged into a river shortly after take-off from Taipei's Songshan airport last February, killing 43 on board. Only 15 people survived the crash.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 01, 2016, with the headline Asia Briefs: Resurgence of diphtheria kills five in Malaysia. Subscribe