These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Three more clusters of Covid-19 infections detected in previously cleared dormitories
Another three new clusters of coronavirus infections - all in dormitories - were announced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (Sept 6). Cassia @ Penjuru, CDPL Tuas Dormitory and Kranji Lodge I were linked to 13, seven and five earlier confirmed cases respectively. Despite all foreign worker dormitories having been announced as cleared on Aug 11, new clusters continue to emerge. In the past week alone, 12 clusters have resurfaced in dormitories that were previously cleared of the virus - the others are Cochrane Lodge I, Mandai Lodge I, Tuas South Dormitory, Blue Stars Dormitory, Cochrane Lodge II, Westlite Toh Guan dormitory, Changi Lodge II, North Coast Lodge and Toh Guan Dormitory. Four community cases were reported on Sunday, comprising a work pass holder and three work permit holders. The MOH said all four are asymptomatic and were detected through proactive testing, including one patient who was earlier quarantined. Two of the four were linked to previous cases while the other two are currently unlinked. – The Straits Times
'Polluters must clean up the mess'
A review of laws and standard operations are necessary to ensure polluters are held accountable for their actions, besides preventing water pollution from recurring. Criminologist and psychologist Associate Professor Dr Geshina Ayu Mat Saat, who is Universiti Sains Malaysia's forensic science programme lecturer, and her student, Moganraj Devarajan, whose research is on green criminology, were commenting on the Sungai Selangor pollution. Offenders, they said, should be made responsible for cleaning up the pollution they caused and restoring the quality of the environment so that ecosystems could function again. "There is a need for accountability at every stage of the chain that enabled the factory to operate and reoffend, instead of depending on public complaints of law violations for action to be taken," they said in a statement to the New Straits Times. They described the water pollution in Sungai Gong, Selangor, as "just one of a series of crimes" against human beings and every living thing dependent on water. "Without water, life will cease. Although some people may be able to survive for a little bit longer, a person will begin to have organ failure by the third day without water. – New Straits Times
Border hospitals stretched
State-run hospitals in Tak have appealed for donations of medical supplies for protection against Covid-19, saying their stocks are all but exhausted after the first wave of the outbreak and they are now having to treat patients from Myanmar which is now being battered by the pandemic. The hospitals need N95 masks, surgical masks and personal protective equipment. The request for donations was made public by Nattagarn Chuenchom, a physician at Mae Sot Hospital. In her Facebook post, Dr Nattagarn described the hardship and financial burdens faced by state-run hospitals in the Thai-Myanmar border area. Other supplies which the border hospitals need include waterproof medical gowns, surgical gloves, face shields and sanitisers, according to the doctor. The hospitals also welcome cash, which along with the supplies, can be donated directly to Mae Sot Hospital, Tha Song Yang Hospital, Mae Ramat Hospital, Phop Phra Hospital, Umphang Hospital, Dr Nattagarn said. "Now our stocks are running low from the first round of outbreak containment. Our budget is also drying up. We have almost nothing left now," she wrote. The doctor admitted she could not be sure if her hospital will be able to cope as efficiently as it had previously. – Bangkok Post
COVID-19 haunts industrial zones in Indonesia
Six months into the pandemic, Indonesian workers are not only at risk of massive layoffs but also of infections at their workplaces, as virus clusters have emerged in factories, prompting calls for tighter government supervision and better compliance of health protocols from companies. The country’s most populous province, West Java, has seen at least three big clusters with a total of 541 cases emerging from its industrial areas in Bekasi regency, located at the periphery of the capital, within the last weeks of August. The regency's health agency head, Sri Enny Mainarti, declined to disclose the names of the three factories but said each had 250, 220 and 71 cases, respectively. Another factory had earlier seen dozens of cases in July and another one in May. They were LG Electronics, motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki and automotive spare part manufacturer PT Nippon Oilseal Kogyu, while previous clusters were also reported from Unilever Indonesia and Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. In total, Enny said 22 factories in the regency had reported COVID-19 cases among their workers since the beginning of the pandemic. In Tangerang, Banten, Mayor Arief Wismansyah told the Post that the administration had traced a total of 43 cases in a cluster emerging from a factory producing daily products from July to August. He also declined to disclose the company names. Local administration officials have said that the affected factory workers did not only live in the areas where the industrial zones were located but also commuted from areas in Greater Jakarta. Central Java and East Java have also reported clusters among their workers, amounting to some 300 cases in at least three companies in July for the former and more than 100 cases in two cigarette factories in April and May. – The Jakarta Post
Amid Chinese presence, Navy wants to stay in Sangley Point
The Philippine Navy is opposing a plan by the Cavite provincial government to boot the military service command out of Sangley Point in Cavite as part of a P500-billion airport project that is expected to ease congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in neighbouring Manila. Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, the Navy’s flag officer in command, cited particularly the involvement in the project of China Communications Construction Co. Inc. (CCCC), one of the Chinese companies recently banned by the United States for its alleged role in the illegal construction of artificial islands on maritime features in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The proposed Cavite-initiated Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA) is a joint venture between CCCC and taipan Lucio Tan’s MacroAsia Corp. Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte gave the green light to US-blacklisted Chinese firms to participate in the Philippines’ infrastructure programs. Bacordo said the reported role of CCCC in the militarization of the South China Sea had raised eyebrows among retired and active security officials over the SPIA project. They want to keep the Navy’s presence at the strategically located Sangley Point, a former US naval base, he said. “All the more we want to remain there so to ensure that there are no security violations,” he told Inquirer.net over the weekend. – INQUIRER.net
Nearly 23 million Vietnamese students enter new academic year
Nearly 23 million students nationwide celebrated the official start of the 2020-21 school-year on Saturday morning. Due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, most schools held a solemn but short ceremony with the direct attendance of only a limited number of students in line with epidemic prevention measures. Other students followed the ceremony in their classrooms. Schools in areas under social distancing held online ceremonies to ensure health and safety for students. In the central city of Đà Nẵng, which was the hardest affected by the latest outbreak of coronavirus, local students celebrated the start of the school-year with a virtual programme broadcast on Đà Nẵng TV at the same time with ceremonies in other localities. Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng sent a letter to teachers, educational workers and students across the country on the occasion. He praised the efforts of the education sector to weather the COVID-19 storm, saying that despite the pandemic severely disrupting classes and educational activities during the last school year, the sector actively and promptly took concerted action to effectively prevent the spread of the coronavirus in schools while completing academic plans. – Viet Nam News
Woman impersonates judge, held for $1 million land scam
Phnom Penh police arrested a woman for impersonating an appeal court judge to cheat a man of almost $1 million. Phnom Penh municipal police minor crimes bureau chief Bun Satya told The Post on Sunday that police sent the woman, Eang Senghong, 45, to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on September 6. Phnom Penh police worked in collaboration with Preah Vihear police to arrest the woman. She has been charged with claiming to be the sibling of national leaders who helped her. She promised to use the money to buy land and sell it for profit in the future. She then fled from Phnom Penh to Preah Vihear after a warrant was issued. “We have already sent her to court, but we do not know what the judge will decide. She lied that she was a judge and a sibling of national leaders and cheated the victim out of almost $1 million. “There are others involved and we are looking for them,” said prosecutor Chreng Khmao. Khmao’s warrant which was released on September 1 said the woman is from Chaom Chao III commune, in Por Sen Chey district, Phnom Penh. The victim, Min Sai, who filed the complaint could not be reached. The police report said the woman took $835,000 from Sai in February 2016 to jointly buy land and split the profits equally. When she sold the land, she did not share the money but fled. The victim filed a complaint with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for a legal solution. – The Phnom Penh Post