Two kidnapper cops arrested

Two kidnapper cops arrested

MALAYSIA: Kuala Lumpur authorities arrested two police detectives
and freed a businessman they had allegedly kidnapped for ransom,
a news report said on Tuesday.

Two other detectives allegedly involved in the abduction were
being hunted, The Star newspaper cited Kuala Lumpur police chief
Syed Rahman Syed Abdul Kadir as saying.

The kidnapping was the latest in a series of crimes exposed by
a crackdown on corrupt police.

At least 16 officers have been detained since early this year
for robbery, kidnapping and extortion in and around Kuala Lumpur.

In the latest incident, four police detectives abducted the
23-year-old building contractor on Sunday from his home in Kuala
Lumpur and demanded 3,000 ringgit (US$789) from his family, The
Star reported. --AP

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Aglance-RP-US exercise
Philippines, U.S. hold naval surveillance exercise
JP/9/ASEAN

Naval exercise held in Sulu Sea

PHILIPPINES: The Philippines and the United States on Tuesday
began a four-day, small-scale naval exercise meant to enhance
maritime surveillance cooperation.

The exercise is being held off southwestern Palawan province
in the Sulu Sea, where Muslim extremist guerrillas seized three
Americans and 17 Filipinos from an island resort in May, the
Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The statement, however, said the exercise was routine and "has
nothing to do" with an ongoing military operation against the
extremist Abu Sayyaf group, which has been linked to Osama bin
Laden's al-Qaeda network, or the military action in Afghanistan.

It said Exercise Marsurvex 02-1 is the last of four maritime
surveillance exercises this year. It involves four Philippine
naval vessels, special forces personnel and an air force
surveillance aircraft. The U.S. participants include only the
crew of a P-3 Orion maritime surveillance plane that is part of
the U.S. Seventh Fleet based in Okinawa, Japan. --AP

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AGlance-Myanmar-UN envoy
UN envoy begins Myanmar mission
JP/9/ASEAN

UN envoy begins Myanmar mission

MYANMAR: The UN special envoy to Myanmar arrived in the capital,
Yangon, on Tuesday amid conflicting reports from the ruling
military and pro-democracy opposition over the progress of
reconciliation talks.

Razali Ismail will meet military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt
during his eight-day stay, as well as opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic minorities, a UN official
said.

But members of the opposition, including Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) -- which won 1990 elections but were
denied power -- are critical of the lack of progress in the
highly secretive talks which began in October last year.

The military, however, maintains progress is being made,
citing the release of dozens of imprisoned NLD members and
reopening of many opposition offices in recent months. --Reuters

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AGlance-Thailand-crime
Six Filipinos arrested for tourist Blackjack scam in Thailand
JP/9/THAILAND

Six Filipinos arrested for scam

THAILAND: Six Filipinos were caught red handed trying to scam
thousands of dollars from mostly Japanese tourists in a fixed
card game, police in Bangkok said on Tuesday.

Thai police raided a house in a Bangkok suburb on Monday and
arrested the six, who were at work fleecing 45,000 baht (US$1000)
out of a hapless victim at the card table, Police Maj. Gen. Chat
Kuldilok said.

The arrests were made after a tip off from a previous victim,
he added.

The group would search out mostly Japanese tourists in Bangkok
and spin an elaborate tale of a sure-fire way to defeat a
billionaire challenger from Brunei, who was in fact in on the
scam.

One Japanese tourist had lost eight million baht in the
Blackjack game, the police officer said. --AFP

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Aglance-Cambodia-Vietnam
Vietnam and Cambodia fail to finalize border dispute protocol
JP/9/ASEAN

Vietnam, Cambodia fail to end border dispute

CAMBODIA: Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong left Phnom Penh on
Tuesday after failing to reach an agreement with Cambodia aimed
at resolving long standing border disputes.

Cambodian foreign minister Hor Namhong said the two countries
had reached several agreements covering cross-border trade,
commerce and exchanges of officials between government
ministries.

However, the crucial issue of agreeing to a protocol aimed at
eventually solving border disputes that date back centuries was
not signed as expected.

Some Cambodian nationalists still lay claim to the Mekong
Delta region of southern Vietnam, which they refer to as "lower
Cambodia." --AFP