KL troops ready to monitor RP truce

KL troops ready to monitor RP truce

MALAYSIA: The Malaysian Armed Forces is ready to deploy officers
to monitor a cease-fire between the Philippines and local Muslim
separatists, local media reported on Sunday.

"The armed forces are always ready for whenever the government
makes a decision. If the cabinet approves it, then we must be
there. We are always prepared," deputy defense minister Shafie
Apdal was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said this week that the
Malaysian presence would "deter terrorist acts" and enable "an
effective, durable cease-fire process" with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim separatist
group.

Malaysia has been encouraging peace negotiations between the
Philippines and the 12,500-strong MILF, which has waged a 25-year
rebellion for an independent Islamic state in the southern third
of the mostly Roman Catholic archipelago.

It has also been proposed that Malaysia lead a cease-fire
monitoring team including agents from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei
and Libya.
Manila suspended formal talks with the MILF earlier this year
after an upsurge of bombings and raids on civilian targets by
suspected MILF guerrillas. -- AFP

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Thailand-Myanmar-drugs
Myanmar drugs lord under house arrest: Thai report
JP/11/ASEAN

Drug lord under house arrest

THAILAND: Top Myanmar drug lord Wei Hseuh Kang has been placed
under house arrest in the military-ruled country's northeastern
town of Lashio, a Thai drug official said according to a report
here on Sunday.

Wei, an ethnic Chinese leader of the Yangon-aligned United Wa
State Army (UWSA) is one of the world's most notorious drug
traffickers and is wanted by the United States, which has put a
US$2 million reward on his head.

"Drug baron Wei Hseuh Kang is under house arrest in Lashio,"
the official from Thailand's Office of Narcotics Control Board
(ONCB) was quoted as saying in Sunday's Bangkok Post.

"He has not been formally arraigned. He is only restricted
from activities," the official told the daily, adding that his
trading company had also been closed.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has previously
threatened to take Wei Hseuh Kang, who jumped bail in Thailand in
1990, dead or alive. In December 2001, Thai authorities seized
property reportedly worth more than $2 million from him.

Wei's brother Wei Hseuh Tang, another UWSA leader, meanwhile
reportedly faces trial in Yangon on drug trafficking charges, the
official added without elaborating. -- AFP

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Singapore-crime-jaywalk
Singapore lists jaywalking as a punishable offense
JP/11/ASEAN

S'pore says jaywalking an offense

SINGAPORE: Pedestrians in Singapore caught walking across bus
parking areas may land in jail under tough new rules to be
imposed on Monday that hope to minimize accidents involving
jaywalkers.

The city-state, known for imposing stiff fines for littering
and spitting in public, said jaywalkers caught taking short cuts
will face fines of up to S$500 (US$285) for their first offense.

They could also could wind up in court and be given penalties
twice that or sentenced to three months in jail.

Repeat offenders could face a maximum $2,000 fine or six
months in jail.

"This new offense was recently introduced in the Road Traffic
Act, to deter jaywalking and to ensure public safety at bus
interchanges and terminals," the Land Transport Authority said on
its website.

"This was so as there were many accidents involving jaywalkers
at bus interchanges."

Four people have been killed and 34 others injured in
jaywalking accidents at bus stations in the last three years. --
AFP

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Vietnam-prostitution sched-feature
Name and shame for Vietnamese bureaucrats in anti-prostitution dr
JP/11/ASEAN

Hanoi enacts new law on vice

VIETNAM: Few have taken Vietnam's previous pledges to eradicate
prostitution seriously, but new legislation could result in state
employees caught with their pants down finding themselves in an
unfamiliar and embarrassing position.

Under the new decree that came into force on July 1, the names
of all civil servants, military and police personnel found to
have frequented the services of a lady of the night will be
passed on to their superiors for punishment.

In a country with 1.3 million state employees -- approximately
one third of the working population -- civil servants account for
60 percent of prostitutes' customers, according to official
figures.

"It is the first official decree on this matter and it is
aimed at people who pay for sexual services and work in the
public sector," said Vu Ngoc Thuy of the National Committee for
the Progress of Women.

Those caught in the uncompromising act will face fines of
between US$15 and $250 and be barred from promotion for a given
period. Repeat offenders risk suspension. -- AFP