The Ministry of Public Security has recently worked with police departments in 52 provinces and cities to dismantle cases of fraud through the use of the Internet, telecommunications and banking system to illegally appropriate property.

The trick the criminals deployed was looking for the accounts of bank customers who did not subscribe to Internet banking services.

The criminals hacked into the banks’ websites and found ways to access the accounts and subscribe to online banking services.

Then, posing as bank employees, they called the account holders asking for an OTP (one-time password) to disburse a loan. If the customer provided the password, the criminals could log into the account and steal money, transferring it to their own accounts.

An old method but one still deployed by criminals was pretending to be employees of lottery companies to cheat people.

Investigators determined that over 560 victims have been affected by the fraud, with the total damage estimated to reach 43 billion dong (Bt61.6 million).

A dozen suspects have been arrested and many documents have been seized.

Illegal gambling on the Internet has also become more sophisticated over the past few years.

The most typical example was a case involving an online gambling ring worth 9.8 trillion dong, discovered by police in the northern province of Phu Tho and the Ministry of Public Security.

The provincial police were asked to bring to court 92 people on seven criminal charges, from organising gambling activities and purchasing fake invoices to money laundering, bribing and abuse of power.

The ringleaders of the online gambling case (held via the card game rikvip/tip.club) were identified as Phan Sao Nam, former chairman of VTC Online Telecommunication company, and Nguyen Van Duong, chairman of CNC, a private hi-tech security company in Hanoi and later chairman of infrastructure development company UDIC.

Since 2014, nearly 43 million accounts were created to join the gambling ring, bringing in revenues of nearly 10 trillion dong.

Although the organisation of football betting is strictly prohibited, this kind of crime has increased in recent years.

In the 2018 World Cup, online betting with transactions valued at thousands of billions of dong was busted by local police. However, it was not easy to investigate as the masterminds in these cases had contact with servers in foreign countries.

Cyber criminals have often exploited several tricks including using social network sites to illegally appropriate other people’s property, the newspaper Kinh te va do thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) reported.

They created Facebook or Zalo accounts and sold household equipment and clothes at an extremely low price to lure customers.

Once the customers expressed interest, they were asked to transfer payments in advance and the contact was quickly cut off after money was received.

The criminals might also hack social-network accounts and then send messages to the users’ contact lists to borrow money, asking them to purchase phone cards with big denominations to steal their property.

They could steal information to take money from ATMs and use fake credit cards to buy expensive goods.

Other crimes involved people pretending to be banking officials and making Internet calls to cheat people.

According to a report from the Hanoi Public Security Department, last year about 97 hi-tech criminal cases were discovered by the police, resulting in the arrests of 165 people.

The police solved 33 criminal cases in the first six months of this year, a reduction of 17 compared with the same period last year.

Data from Internetworldstats.com, a website dedicated to tracking the number of Internet users around the world, showed that, by mid-2017, Vietnam had 64 million users, representing 67 per cent of the population.

The figure gives Vietnam the 12th-highest number of users in the world and ranks it sixth among 35 countries and territories in Asia.

Some believe the Law on Cybersecurity recently adopted by the National Assembly and taking effect in January 1 will be an effective tool to protect the online community and to assist in the fight against hi-tech cybercrime.

Critics at home and abroad, though, say it will stymie the growth of Internet use and hamper firms’ online marketing activities.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, once the law is implemented, it will help protect users from malicious information that could affect their honour, reputation and dignity and from other activities that might affect their legitimate rights and interests.

In addition, the risk of the theft of personal information will also be minimised, while gambling and the dissemination of negative cultural products will be eliminated.

“We will continue the measures that we have been implementing,” Dody said as reported by kompas.com, adding that the measures included intervention in the foreign exchange market to stabilize the rupiah in accordance with the country’s economic fundamentals.

He denied BI would increase the seven-day reverse repo rate.

“Don’t think that it is the only option,” Dody said, adding that the central bank had also carried out a foreign exchange auction on Monday to help ease pressure off the rupiah.

A number of external factors have influenced the rupiah’s depreciation, including the depreciation of the Turkish lira, a trade war between the US and China, as well as the devaluation of the yuan.

Dody expressed the hope that the rupiah would not weaken any further. “I hope this is only temporary, considering our strong economic fundamentals, as indicated by significant economic growth and low inflation,” he added.

Provincial Labour Department director Ros Sarom said officials had issued legal documents to most Cambodians working in Thailand before July.

“The word undocumented or illegal worker does not exist anymore. For example, those who remain illegally are workers brought into Thailand by agents, if they are arrested each worker could face a fine of up to 800,000 riel and they will be deported.

“Undocumented workers will face stern action from the Thai government and Thailand has clearly announced that all Khmer and Vietnamese workers must be documented in order to work in the country. If undocumented workers are arrested, we cannot help them,” he said.

Pi Somnok, deputy human trafficking officer of the Anti-Human Trafficking Office of the provincial police, said the number of Cambodian returnees fluctuates – ranging from 20 workers to 100 workers a day.

“Migrant workers return home to obtain legal documents so they can go back to Thailand to work. There are cases where (Cambodian) workers are arrested by Thai officials and deported, and sometimes they (Cambodians) approach Thai officials to send them home,” said Somnok.

Last year, the Thai government issued an order to all migrant workers to obtain legal documents by June 30, so that they can work legally in the Kingdom. This was part of the government’s effort to weed out illegal workers.

“Stuff in my office started shaking. I heard a bang, and then the drinking fountain fell,” said Chang Li, a nurse with the county’s orthopedic hospital in Tonghai.

Chang rushed to her home and found her mother’s legs buried in the debris of their home damaged by the quake. “Police and medical staff helped send her to the hospital,” Chang said.

The non-profit groups — based in France, England and Thailand — jointly secured the three-year grant to spotlight industry-led sabotage of policies designed to reduce tobacco use, Bloomberg told AFP.

“I’m sympathetic,” he said by phone. “They want to promote their products and make money for their stockholders.”

“But it is killing people, and I have always thought there is a point at which there are things more valuable — more important — than just increasing the bottom line.”

The new initiative “will protect consumers by shining a light on the tobacco industry’s underhanded tactics, including marketing directly to children,” Bloomberg added.

The Tobacco Control Research Group at the University of Bath in Britain, staffed by academics and journalists, has long tracked tobacco industry efforts to influence public policy, publishing its findings since 2011 on tobaccotactics.org.

Big Tobacco’s tactics to expand markets have included suing governments seeking to implement plain packaging for cigarettes, sponsoring cultural events or sports teams, and challenging the legality of smoke-free zones.

In Thailand, The Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) focuses on Southeast Asia, and produces the Tobacco Industry Interference Index.

Finally, the Paris-based International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease — a scientific organisation — publishes the Tobacco Atlas, a national and global statistical database, and works with governments in 50 countries.

“Together, they can help save a lot of lives,” said Bloomberg, who has given away upwards of a billion dollars over the last decade for the cause.

Tobacco claims nearly seven million lives each year from cancer and other lung diseases, a million in China alone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Smoking has plateaued in most rich nations, but in the developing world the total number of tobacco users — overwhelmingly men, especially the young — keeps climbing.

A ‘smoke-free world’?

The industry sold 5.5 trillion cigarettes last year to more than a billion smokers, generating $700 billion (570 billion euros) in sales.

British American Tobacco, the largest publicly-traded tobacco company, raked in 5.2 billion pounds (5.8 billion euros, $7.2 billion) in profits in 2016.

“This is the only product I know of where if you use it as advertised, it will kill you,” said Bloomberg.

The Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) initiative was announced in March at the World Conference on tobacco or Health in Cape Town, South Africa.

“The tobacco industry is a major obstacle in the global drive to stop people dying early from cancer and heart disease,” WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said of the plan.

“STOP will be a key partner in the effort to uncover and overcome these barriers to tobacco control.”

In September 2017, tobacco giant Philip Morris set up the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World with a 12-year endowment of $80 million.

The move has been dismissed by public health advocates as a public relations ploy, and a way to position the company in the booming smokeless tobacco market.

E-cigarettes, however, remain controversial given their claim to be less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

A study published Thursday in the medical journal Thorax, for example, reports that so-called vaping can damage vital immune system cells in the lungs.

“Many e-cigarette companies have been bought up by the tobacco giants and there’s certainly an agenda to portray e-cigarettes as safe,” said lead author David Thickett from the University of Birmingham in England.

Singapore’s concerns about a government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad have not been assuaged by the way he has conducted relations with Singapore since he took charge after the May general election, especially over issues better negotiated in private, they said.

Professor Joseph Liow, dean of NTU’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said: “The first 100 days have set the stage perhaps for even more uncertainty, in terms of what buttons the Mahathir-led government is going to press in its bilateral relationship with Singapore.”

Singapore’s Government already had its concerns given the “less than pleasant” experiences with Dr Mahathir during his previous stint as prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

“It’s understandable that there’s some measure of concern, which is not helped by the way Dr Mahathir conducted relations with Singapore,” said Professor Liow at the forum held by The Straits Times and sponsored by OCBC Premier Banking.

For instance, his public comments in recent months on cancelling or deferring the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail, without officially informing Singapore, were not the best way to conduct diplomacy, said Prof Liow.

Dr Mahathir raising the issue of the Water Agreements, one of his major bones of contention in his earlier stint as prime minister, could also be a negotiating tactic, he said.

“We should not discount the fact that Mahathir has always liked to ‘poke’ Singapore,” he added.

His fellow panellist, OCBC economist Selena Ling, said: “A lot of the ministers have memories of how the last Mahathir regime panned out for Singapore.”

This could shape how they view the Pakatan Harapan government, which could make future relations challenging, she added.

Questions on the relationship between Singapore and Malaysia dominated the question and answer time at the forum, with participants also interested to hear whether Pakatan Harapan’s victory could be replicated in Singapore.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition of four parties successfully teamed up despite past bitter quarrels between some of their leaders, and toppled the Umno-led government which ruled Malaysia without interruption for 61 years.

The panellists, however, did not think a similar regime change was likely in Singapore, despite seven opposition parties getting together recently to discuss forming a coalition led by former People’s Action Party MP Tan Cheng Bock.

Said panellist and Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh: “No disrespect to the opposition politicians in Singapore, but they’re not Mahathir Mohamad. When Tun Mahathir entered the opposition in Malaysia, it was a huge milestone.

“No previous prime minister had ever joined the opposition, and he was not just any PM but the longest-serving PM,” Mr Teoh added.

Said Prof Liow: “What happened in Malaysia was a major rejection of Najib (Razak) and what he had done or not done to the country and its economy, first and foremost.

“Until you have a similar setting in Singapore, the context is fundamentally different.”

Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China. Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang have exchanged congratulatory messages to celebrate the anniversary.

In his message, Abe stated, “By deepening Japan-China cooperation hand in hand, we hope to contribute by addressing various problems of the international society and live up to the expectations of the world.”

Li wrote in his message that leaders and politicians of another generation made the decision to sign a treaty 40 years ago and they established a milestone for the bilateral relations.

Japan-China relations deteriorated to an unprecedented level after Japan’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture in 2012. However, there has been some improvement partly due to Abe’s announcement of Japan’s cooperation under certain conditions in China’s massive “One Belt, One Road” economic zone initiative.

Li visited Japan in May — the first time in seven years for a Chinese premier to do so.

Abe is eyeing a visit to China in October or is likely to visit in line with a trilateral meeting with Chinese and South Korean leaders expected to be held in Beijing by the end of this year.

Xi is expected to visit Japan in June next year when a summit meeting of the Group of 20 major and emerging economies is planned to be held in Osaka.

The idea has been mooted of issuing a political document between Japan and China on the occasion of Xi’s visit to Japan.

According to sources familiar with Japan-China relations, it is hoped that the document will include such phrases stating “a mutual trust between Japan and China” and “the role of Japan-China relations in the development of the global economy” amid changes in circumstances surrounding the two countries.

In the past, the two nations issued the “Joint Communique of Japan and China” in 1972; the “Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China” in 1978; the “Japan-China Joint Declaration” in 1998; and the “Joint Statement between Japan and China on Comprehensive Promotion of a ‘Mutually Beneficial Relationship Based on Common Strategic Interests” in 2008.

Should a “fifth statement” be realized, it would be a huge diplomatic achievement for Abe, observers have said.

Amid the amicable atmosphere, the Japanese government continues sending cautious signals to China. Japan promotes a “free and open Indo-Pacific strategy” to ensure the rule of law and freedom of navigation in regard to China’s assertive maritime advancement.

The United States also has announced the creation of a fund to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region, which is considered a joint framework with Japan to counter China.

The Japanese government has been concerned that China might again step up anti-Japan movements by playing the card of focusing on historical issues.

“Nobody knows for sure whether the Japan-China relationship will keep on improving,” said a senior official of the Foreign Ministry.

China sends signals to U.S.

Xi has clearly expressed his intention to improve the relationship with Japan, believing it is preferable to stabilize the relationship with Tokyo amid worsening U.S.-China relations partly due to trade friction.

Dai Bingguo, a Chinese former state councilor, expressed his appreciation to Japan on Saturday at a symposium to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

Dai said he would never forget Japan’s deep involvement and support for China’s reform and open-door policy.

In June, Xi emphasized the need to improve relations with its neighboring countries at an important meeting on foreign policy, with U.S.-China relations in mind.

The move to improve relations with Japan is part of Xi’s policy. By showing its cooperation with Japan, China intends to send signals to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is inclined toward protectionism.

As Xi has promoted high-quality economic development, he also intends to utilize Japan’s environmental technology among others.Speech

The department said firms and individuals imported more than 3,664 cryptocurrency mining rigs in the first six months of the year, most of which were ‘Antminer’ branded models from China.

Four enterprises imported more than 3,000 machines this year, while the rest were imported by individuals and organisations, which do not have import tax codes.

Last year, HCM City Customs Department completed customs clearance for more than 7,000 bitcoin and litecoin miners. Meanwhile, the Ha Noi Customs Department approved import of 190 bitcoin miners and 350 litecoin miners.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, State Bank of Vietnam, Ministry of Justice and relevant agencies are considering suspending the import of cryptocurrency mining machines in a move to improve the management of currency transactions in the country.

According to the state-run media regulation agency, the government will discuss ways to revise relevant laws to designate hate speech in such websites as “adult content.” Once the laws are revised, the sites would only be accessible to those aged 18 or older.

The operators of the sites would be subject to up to two years in prison or a fine of 20 million won ($17,600), if found in violation of the rules.

The plans were announced following a number of controversies involving hate speech shared online, particularly Ilbe, an online community of conservative extremists, and WOMAD, a radical feminist online community.

Last month, an Ilbe member triggered public uproar after uploading a post sharing his “sexual encounter” with an elderly sex worker in central Seoul, which also contained four nude photographs of the woman.

The case was investigated by police and the photos were eventually removed from the site. However, many online comments continued mocking the elderly sex worker, mobilizing gender-based hate speech.

WOMAD, on the other hand, has stirred controversy with its hate speech against men, including the late actor Kim Joo-hyuk and deceased K-pop star Jonghyun, as well as President Moon Jae-in.

Last month, an unidentified WOMAD member posted a photo of a burned communion wafer, denouncing the Catholic Church for its systematic sexism. The photograph triggered public discussion, with the Korean Catholic Church saying the case should be subject to legal punishment.

Currently, teenagers are banned from accessing online movies, video games, books and contents the regulation agency considers to be inappropriate for minors due to graphic violence or explicit sexual content, among other factors.

The Ministry of Gender Equality is also considering the introduction of a law to regulate gender-based hate speech online.

Since June, a total of 114 girls below 21 years old have been turned away by airport officials, according to Marc Red Mariñas, acting immigration deputy commissioner and Port Operations Division chief.

He said that in June alone, 67 people who confessed to being minors were barred from leaving the country.

Mariñas said that all of the apprehended passengers presented passports showing that they were adults. They also had valid overseas employment permits, working visas and job contracts.

“It is evident that these young women were victimized by syndicates that specialize in the procurement of documents to make it appear that they are old enough to work abroad,” he added.

40 rescued in raid

Last month, the Manila Police District rescued more than 40 women, some of them minors, during a raid in Sta. Cruz, Manila. They were illegally recruited from Mindanao and offered work as household service workers in Saudi Arabia.

A report from the BI-Naia Travel Control and Enforcement Unit showed that the latest apprehensions involved four girls who were intercepted on Aug. 2 while trying to leave on a Saudia Airlines flight for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The passengers allegedly admitted during investigation that they were below 21 years old although their passports indicated that they were in their late 20s.

They were later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.