These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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9 months' jail for maid who elbowed 1-year-old baby's face and stepped on his knee
Feeling upset over personal issues, a maid decided to vent her unhappiness on a one-year-old baby boy under her care by abusing him with acts such as stepping on his leg and pushing his head until he fell. Indonesian Suliana Kasim Dapok, 42, was sentenced on Monday (April 5) to nine months' jail after pleading guilty to two counts of ill-treating the child. He cannot be named due to a gag order to protect his identity and details about his home have been redacted from court documents. The court heard that Suliana started working for his family in October 2018. Her duties included taking care of her employer's four children. The baby was at home at around 11.15am on May 8 last year when he vomited on a carpet in the living room. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Mathias Tan said: "The accused was in the process of cleaning the carpet with detergent when the victim walked towards the accused. "As the accused did not want the victim to come into contact with the detergent, the accused elbowed the victim in his face, causing the victim to fall to the floor and cry." Suliana was walking towards the kitchen after wiping the carpet when she thought that the baby would grab her leg. To prevent him from doing so and out of frustration from having to clean the vomitus, she stepped on his right knee, causing him to cry even louder. Suliana continued to abuse the child in the living room about 20 minutes later, the court heard. The DPP said: "The accused was sitting on the sofa folding the laundry. The accused motioned for the victim to come over, which the victim did. "The accused then pushed the victim's head, causing him to fall to the floor. The accused thereafter grabbed the victim's leg to pull him towards her, and checked the victim's diapers." While getting up from the sofa to put away the clothes, Suliana stepped on the baby's right leg, causing him to cry. A closed-circuit television camera inside the flat caught her committing the acts of abuse and his mother alerted the police at 1.12pm that day. The baby was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital about an hour later and he was found with bruising along his spine. For each count of ill-treating a child, an offender can be jailed for up to eight years and fined up to $8,000. – The Straits Times
Dramatic start to Najib's appeal hearing
Datuk Seri Najib Razak's appeal hearing involving his SRC International Sdn Bhd case got off to a dramatic start today with his lead counsel first failing to turn up on time, and then persistently arguing for the hearing to be adjourned at least another month. The appeal hearing had been set to start at 9am but as the court was called into session on the dot, another of Najib's lawyer, Harvinderjit Singh stood up and informed the panel of three judges that lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had yet to make it there. He said Shafee had to turn back while on the way to the court after realising that he needed to get some documents. "He will be here by 9.40am the latest," he said, before the court stood down to wait for Shafee. Shafee later apologised for making everyone wait after court reconvened at 9.40am. However, immediately after that, the senior lawyer wasted no time in making an application for the appeal hearing to be put off by at least another one month. Shafee said the defence needed more time as it was in the midst of gathering evidence of former Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz's family's role in the issues surrounding Najib's case. He said there had been reports of millions - from the issuance of bonds related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), banked into Zeti's husband, and son's bank accounts in Singapore. He argued that such evidence was crucial to Najib's defence. However, he said the defence's attempts to obtain documents related to this had been hampered by lack of co-operation, even suggesting sabotage, from various parties. Shafee said he had written to Singaporean authorities, and also filed an application in New York to obtain information and documents. However, he said nothing had been forthcoming until now and he needed at least another month before getting on with the appeal hearing. However, lead prosecutor Datuk V Sithambaram objected to the application and said Shafee was going all over the place, from Singapore to New York, "east, west, south and north", talking about things which had no relevance to the evidence which had been produced during the trial at the High Court. "He is just making statements from the bar. We seriously object to his request for an adjournment. "He is making an unsubstantiated speech from the bar for political motivation...he is seeking an adjournment on invalid grounds." However, Shafee countered that he was not making unsubstantiated claims and said issues he had brought up were all over the internet. He argued that even netizens had posted that Najib should be given access to the documents to help him prepare his appeal. "You must have read about it over the internet," Shafee said, trying to drive home his point. However, Judge Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who is heading the three-member bench along with Judges Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, said he did not read all that. Abdul Karim later eventually shot down Shafee's request for the adjournment and ordered the appeal hearing to proceed. He said all three judges were unanimous that there was no sufficient reason to adjourn the appeal hearing. – New Straits Times
Songkran tainted by virus fear
One of the country's most authoritative voices on Covid-19 transmission, renowned virologist Yong Poovorawan, has warned a third or even fourth wave of Covid-19 could emerge as a result of the government policy to encourage people to enjoy themselves and spend more during the upcoming Songkran festival. "Be prepared to see the daily infection rates jump from tens to hundreds per day after the Songkran festival," Dr Yong said. "We have become too complacent and that means we need to waste a lot of financial resources for testing, monitoring and curing the disease." Dr Yong, the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University, on Sunday wrote on his Facebook page in response to the report of infections in pubs in the Thong Lor area last week. Restaurants and bars in Thong Lor in Bangkok's Sukhumvit area were the source of a cluster of infections last year. Dr Yong said the relaxed measures in entertainment areas are the main factor when quick transmission occurs. Despite the availability of vaccines, Dr Yong warned that rates of inoculation in Thailand and around the world could not keep up with infections and it would take another two years for vaccination efforts to immunise 70% of the world population. After fewer cases were reported, Covid-19 infections on Sunday made a comeback in the capital as health authorities said cases linked to the entertainment cluster had risen to 71, according to Department of Disease Control (DDC) director-general Opas Karnkawinpong. Dr Opas said the cases linked to the entertainment cluster rose to 71 and are scattered in Bangkok (45), Pathum Thani (11), Nonthaburi (8) and Nakhon Pathom (7). Possible cluster infections were also reported in other regions. – Bangkok Post
Palace bats for week-long MECQ after extended ECQ
Malacañang ruled out the possibility of extending anew the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna beyond April 11, but is eyeing a week-long and more lenient modified ECQ (MECQ) once the current status lapses. The ECQ implementation over Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Cavite and Laguna was supposed to end on April 4, but was extended for another week until April 11 due to the surge in new COVID-19 cases. “Given what [Budget] Secretary [Wendel] Avisado said that we have no more funds for ayuda, and Congress currently is on recess so in case we need a supplemental budget, we would have to request for a special session, I don’t think ECQ for a third week is actually a possibility,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel. “In fact, based on the model of the DOH [Department of Health], what they recommended was two weeks of ECQ including last week and then we had earlier another week of bubble, to be followed by a week of MECQ,” he added. “That’s the model we’re pursuing, two weeks of ECQ and another week of MECQ,” Roque said. With the implementation of stricter community quarantine and enforcement of health protocols, Roque said the government is expecting the COVID-19 numbers to go down to “4,000 a day by May 15.” Due to the ECQ implementation, the government will distribute aid either in cash or in kind to 22.9 million beneficiaries across Metro Manila and the four provinces under the so-called NCR Plus bubble. – INQUIRER.net
Nguyen Xuan Phuc elected as State President
The National Assembly (NA) elected Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Politburo member of the 13th tenure and a deputy of the 14th legislature, as State President for the 2016-2021 term on April 5 morning, during the 14th legislature’s 11th sitting. With 468 approval votes by all deputies present, or 97.5 per cent of the total NA deputies, the legislature passed a resolution on the election. The resolution came into force right after it won the approval of the NA. President Phuc was born on July 20, 1954 in the central province of Quảng Nam. He was Politburo member of the 11th, 12th and 13th tenures, member of the Party Central Committee of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th tenures, and NA deputy of the 11th, 13th and 14th tenures. – Viet Nam News
Crackdown on violators: Capital police take action against 155 curfew breakers
Phnom Penh police have adopted a no-nonsense stand and took action against 155 people who violated the 8pm to 5am curfew over the past two nights. In contrast, Kampong Speu authorities reported 100 percent compliance with the curfew imposed in the province. Colonel San Sokseiha, Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman, said yesterday that during the first two nights of enforcing the curfew, police in 14 districts caught the violators and impounded their vehicles. He said the 155 vehicles included 130 motorcycles, 18 cars and seven PassApp rickshaws. Col Sokseiha said that the seized vehicles were taken to district police stations to be kept for 14 days while the owners have to serve a mandatory two-week quarantine at their homes. “According to police records, most of those caught were those who chose to go out to have drinks during the curfew hours,” he told Khmer Times. “They do not seem to be afraid of the curfew order or of getting infected by COVID-19.” Col Sokseiha said that to implement the curfew, police will continue to strictly guard all main roads and set up checkpoints at all 14 districts across the capital from 8pm to 5am daily. On Thursday, Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng declared the curfew in an effort to contain the rampant spread of COVID-19 sparked by the February 20 Community Event. He issued a strict order to the armed forces, authorities and relevant authorities to confiscate the means of transportation at the checkpoints in all 14 districts in the capital. – Khmer Times
Nine civilians in Kalay released in exchange for captured police
Seven policemen captured by anti-coup protesters in the Sagaing region town of Kalay were released on Friday in exchange for nine detained civilians, according to local protesters. The exchange of detainees between a coup resistance group and regime forces was the first reported since Myanmar’s military seized power on February 1. A protester from Kalay’s Tarhan protest camp who asked not to be named said the other side had offered to make the swap. The nine released prisoners were from a total of around 40 civilians who have been detained in the town since February 7, he added. “All nine were people who had been arrested for breaching the curfew imposed by the military. They were not involved in the protests,” he told Myanmar Now. “They are still holding our comrades who were arrested at protests. We want them released as well,” he added, noting that further releases are expected on Monday. The protesters captured four plainclothes officers after they entered the Tarhan protest site last Wednesday. Three more were taken into custody over the next few days. “We treated them well. There were no beatings. We tied [their hands] for security reasons but untied them when they ate,” said the Kalay protester. “We saw them as humans,” he said of the protesters’ attitude towards their captives. Regime forces have intensified their crackdown on Kalay’s protest sites since March 28, when four protesters were killed during an assault on the Tarhan protest camp on Bogyoke road. Protesters who defended themselves with hunting rifles said that four members of the regime’s forces were also killed. Another 17 were reportedly injured. – Myanmar NOW
Indonesia to receive 10 million doses of Sinovac vaccine this April
Indonesia is scheduled to receive another 10 million doses of Sinovac vaccine in April 2021, according to Dr Siti Nadia Tarmizi, spokesperson of the Health Ministry's COVID-19 Vaccination. "This number adds to the availability of the Sinovac vaccine in the country, which has reached 28 million doses," she said in a text message here on Sunday. Of the existing stock of 28 million doses, five million have been distributed to several provinces while 11 million doses will be distributed early this month. The remaining 12 million doses are still under the process of vaccine production by state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma which has established cooperation with Sonovac. She mentioned about India's policy on embargo of AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Indonesia. "Hence, the delivery is delayed until May 2021," she remarked. Despite the delay in the AstraZeneca vaccine delivery, she was optimistic that the government would still be able to pursue a herd immunity target by vaccinating a total of 181.5 million Indonesians. "This will be completed by the end of December 2021. Of course, there is still time for us to accelerate the vaccination coverage according to schedule," she noted. She also ensured that the COVID-19 vaccination program will continue during the fasting month of Ramadan which will start on April 13. Meanwhile, during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in WuYi, Fujian province, China, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi submitted a proposal for turning Indonesia into a vaccine hub for Southeast Asia, as part of long-term vaccine cooperation. "This idea is still in its early stage, but what we are proposing includes cooperation to strengthen vaccine development research, develop raw material industries, and increase national vaccine production capacity," she said during a press conference held from China on Friday. The idea was discussed with Wang Yi during talks on strengthening vaccine partnership, both in the long and short term, she informed. The two countries will hold further discussions on the long-term vaccine cooperation, but in principle, China has expressed its support for the Indonesian initiative, she said. – AntaraNews.Com