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Tag: Bangladesh

  • Bangladeshi Foreign Worker Denies Raping PRC National At MacRitchie Reservoir Park

    Bangladeshi Foreign Worker Denies Raping PRC National At MacRitchie Reservoir Park

    A Bangladeshi man is on trial for allegedly abducting a hiker at MacRitchie Reservoir Park in 2015, forcing her off the Lornie Trail at knifepoint and raping her twice in a forested area.

    Construction worker Pramanik Liton, 24, denied the charges on Tuesday (May 16) at the opening of his trial. He faces four counts, including two for aggravated rape, one for sexual assault and one for abduction for illicit intercourse.

    The victim, a 40-year-old Chinese national, had been hiking the Lornie Trail alone on Feb 8, 2015, when Liton accosted her and asked her to have sex with him. When she refused, Liton pressed a knife to her throat, covered her mouth and forced her off the trail.

    He took her deep into the forested area off the trail, where he raped her twice at knifepoint and forced her into other sexual acts. She feared for her life and pleaded with Liton to let her go, the High Court heard.

    The ordeal lasted nearly two hours, from 1.45pm when the woman was abducted, until about 3.37pm when Liton threw the knife in the bushes and left the victim in the forest.

    She called her then-boyfriend for help. They met at the Mushroom Cafe near the entrance of MacRitchie Reservoir Park, and he took her to make a police report immediately.

    Trackers from the Gurkha contingent were sent into the forest to locate the scene of the crime and to recover the weapon.

    The crime scene was located at about 9.30pm the same day. The Gurkha who discovered the scene said the ground was flattened in places and pieces of tissue were littered around the area. The pieces of tissue were seized by the police, and tested positive for Liton’s semen.

    The knife was recovered the next day by another Gurkha and handed over to the police. A crime scene specialist lifted a fingerprint off the blade of the knife, which matched Liton’s. He was arrested on Feb 10 at the construction site where he worked.

    Blood samples were taken from both Liton and the victim, which allowed investigators to tie Liton to the rape. His semen was found on the victim’s panties, as well as on swabs taken from the victim’s mouth and vagina. His DNA was also found on the victim’s blouse, and hers was found on the knife.

    Prosecutors Stella Tan and Sruthi Boppana said they would adduce evidence from 44 witnesses to make their case, including the victim and her then-boyfriend.

    Liton is not represented. Through a Bengali interpreter, he told the court: “I don’t want any lawyer.” At one point, he also insisted he “doesn’t know anything about the knife”.

    The trial continues.

    If convicted of aggravated rape, Liton faces at least eight years in jail and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, per charge.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Jobless And Unpaid By Employers, Bangladeshi Workers Faces Daunting Fate

    Jobless And Unpaid By Employers, Bangladeshi Workers Faces Daunting Fate

    At least six Bangladeshi workers may have to go home as soon as next week, if they are not able to find a new employer.

    Their previous employers, HBB Engineering and C-Plus Engineering, owed them between four and eight months’ pay.

    In total, 31 workers from the two companies have been affected.

    While the workers have received a portion of their pay, some have been out of work since January after their work permits were cancelled by their employers.

    Though the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) informed them that they had two weeks to approach any employment agency for help, the workers have not been able to find alternative employment.

    A spokesman for MOM said the six workers will have the remainder of their salaries paid through insurers later when they either find a new employer or when they return home.

    But the workers will be going home to a mountain of debts they’d hoped to pay off with a steady job in Singapore.

    Mr Prodhan Abdur Razzak, 36, was an excavator operator with HBB Engineering. He came to Singapore last May and stopped receiving his salary in July. He said his employer cancelled his work permit in January.

    He has received $1,773 – half of the pay he is owed by the company – but has a $4,700 debt to pay off back home, consisting of a bank loan he took to pay agent fees to travel to Singapore and medical bills incurred by his family.

    The Straits Times reported on March 10 that the companies are being investigated by MOM.

    Mr Razzak, who comes from the Chandpur district in Bangladesh, told The New Paper: “I asked my boss for some money to pay the medical bills, but he always said he had no money.

    “I even cried but, in the end, I had to borrow from a friend to pay the bills.”

    Mr Razzak added that his S Pass expires on March 30.

    His is one of 4,500 salary-related claims involving foreign workers that MOM has received every year for the last three years. MOM said more than 95 per cent of claims are resolved every year.

    Non-profit organisation Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) told TNP it handled 376 salary cases last year and the 2017 figures already look set to surpass this number.

    Mr A.B.M. Rafiqul Islam, the owner of both HBB Engineering and C-Plus Engineering, was not contactable for comment yesterday.

    Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) chairman Yeo Guat Kwang told TNP that, while the centre is able to actively source for employment for the workers through its network of industry associations, the “success rate is generally not high” and called for a “multi-stakeholder, collaborative approach” to the issue.

    “MWC plans to partner the industry associations, as well as the MOM, in exploring and considering additional measures that the stakeholders may take to improve our system to better assist and facilitate migrant workers to secure alternative employment,” said Mr Yeo.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Myanmar Minta Diberi ‘Masa Dan Ruang’ Untuk Huraikan Krisis Rohingya

    Myanmar Minta Diberi ‘Masa Dan Ruang’ Untuk Huraikan Krisis Rohingya

    Timbalan ketua pertahanan Myanmar pada Isnin (23 Jan) menggesa dunia supaya memberi “masa dan ruang” kepada pemerintah negara itu untuk menghuraikan krisis yang melibatkan Muslim Rohingya di tengah-tengah kebimbangan bahawa kumpulan militan mungkin akan mengeksploitasi keadaan yang bergolak itu.

    Laksamana Muda Myint Nwe memberitahu satu forum keselamatan di Singapura bahawa pemerintah Myanmar “cukup sedar akan keprihatinan yang kian meningkat mengenai laporan-laporan tentang keadaan di wilayah Rakhine”, yang didiami orang Rohingya dan komited untuk menangani isu tersebut dan menghukum mereka yang bertanggungjawab.

    Sejak Oktober tentera Myanmar sudah melancarkan “operasi pembersihan” di utara wilayah itu untuk menghapuskan para pemberontak yang dituduh menyerang pondok-pondok polis sempadan.

    Sekurang-kurangnya 66,000 orang Rohingya yang sudah melarikan diri ke negara jiran, Bangladesh, mendakwa bahawa pasukan keselamatan Myanmar merogol, membunuh dan mendera kaum itu.

    Myanmar sejak sekian lama berdepan dengan kritikan masyarakat antarabangsa berhubung layanannya terhadap kaum Rohingya. Kebanyakan rakyat Myanmar yang beragama Buddha menyifatkan orang Rohingya sebagai pendatang haram dari Bangladesh.

    Laksmana tersebut berkata demikian sebagai respons kepada ucap tama yang disampaikan oleh Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia Hishammuddin Hussein di Forum Fullerton yang dianjurkan oleh Institut Antarabangsa bagi Pengajian Strategik.

    Hishammuddin memberi amaran bahawa keadaan di Rakhine – jika tidak ditangani dengan betul boleh dieksploitasikan oleh kumpulan ISIS untuk mengukuhkan pangkalannya di Asia Tenggara.

    Myint Nwe berkata bahawa Yangon dan masyarakat antarabangsa harus menumpukan perhatian kepada usaha untuk mencari “huraian yang berkekalan” bagi masalah tersebut.

    Hishammuddin berkata bahawa ASEAN – sebuah perkumpulan serantau yang dianggotai Malaysia dan Myanmar – harus memainkan peranan penting dalam mencari huraian bersama para pemimpin Myanmar.

    Source: BeritaMediacorp

  • Wanita Dirogol Secara Sistematik Di Myanmar

    Wanita Dirogol Secara Sistematik Di Myanmar

    Ketika  tentera kerajaan Myanmar semakin menghampiri kampung Pwint Phyu Chaung, penduduk hanya mempunyai beberapa pilihan.

    Noor Ankis, 25 yang membuat keputusan untuk tidak melarikan diri mengatakan beliau dipaksa melutut dan kemudian dipukul sebelum dibawa ke suatu tempat rahsia untuk dirogol tentera kerajaan.

    Rashida Begum, 22 pula memilih untuk terjun ke dalam sebuah sungai bersama tiga anaknya. Seorang anak Rashidah yang masih bayi hanyut dan gagal dijumpai dalam kejadian tersebut.

    Cerita-cerita dari pelarian Myanmar ini yang kini tinggal di Bangladesh memberikan gambaran jelas mengenai keganasan tentera kerajaan sejak beberapa bulan lepas.

    Kisah mereka juga selari dengan laporan yang didedahkan oleh pertubuhan-pertubuhan hak asasi manusia.

    Dalam laporan tersebut, tentera kerajaan memasuki kampung-kampung di utara Rakhine dan melepaskan tembakan secara rawak, menembak pelancar roket dan memusnahkan kediaman sementara kanak-kanak dan wanita dirogol secara sistematik.

    Dari imej satelit yang didedahkan Humans Right Watch (HRW), kira-kira 1,500 kediaman telah dimusnahkan.

    Kempen kekejaman kerajaan Myanmar pula kini beralih ke arah selatan dan didakwa tidak akan berhenti sehingga kumpulan etnik Muslim, Rohingya dihapuskan.

    “Kami tak tahu langkah tentera kerajaan seterusnya, tapi kami tahu serangan ke atas orang awam sedang berterusan, kata Matthew Smith dari kumpulan Fortify Rights, dipetik laporan Irish Times.

    Lawan pengganas konon

    Sebuah suruhanjaya yang ditubuhkan kerajaan minggu lalu menafikan dakwaan pembunuhan beramai-ramai yang dilakukan tentera kerajaan di kampung-kampung yang telah dikepung.

    Para wartawan dan para penyiasat dari kumpulan hak asasi manusia pula dilarang menjejakkan kaki ke kampung-kampung tersebut.

    Myanmar menafikan melakukan sebarang pencabulan hak asasi, kecuali kejadian polis Myanmar yang dirakam membelasah penduduk Rohingya.

    [ARTIKEL BERKAITAN: Video polis Myanmar pukul etnik Rohingya viral]

    Penerima Hadiah Nobel, Aung San Suu Kyii pula dikecam kerana berdiam diri dan ketawa apabila soalan-soalan berkenaan penindasan etnik Rohingya ditujukan kepadanya.

    Kempen kekejaman kerajaan dilaporkan bermula pada Oktober selepas sembilan anggota polis dibunuh dan dipercayai dilakukan kumpulan pemberontak bersenjata dari etnik Rohingya.

    Sehingga kini, tiada sebarang suspek kejadian dikenal pasti.

    Kerajaan Myanmar menyifatkan orang ramai ‘tersalah anggap’ mengenai kempennya yang menyasarkan penduduk etnik Rohingya.

    Sehingga kini, dianggarkan 65,000 pelarian etnik Rohingya sudah melarikan diri ke Bangladesh, kata laporan Organisasi Migrasi Antarabangsa (IOM).

    Semua dirogol, semua dibakar

    Tentera kerajaan dilaporkan pergi dari rumah ke rumah untuk menangkap lelaki dewasa dan kemudian merogol wanita dan membakar rumah.

    Kampung Kyet Yoepin yang mengandungi 245 kediaman musnah dalam operasi dua hari pertengahan Oktober lepas, kata HRW.

    Muhammad Shafiq yang berusia 20-an mengatakan askar kerajaan akan membariskan lelaki berasingan dari wanita.

    Ketika seorang askar memegang tangan kakaknya, Shafiq melawan dan beliau dibelasah dengan teruk oleh tentera kerajaan dan ditinggalkan untuk mati.

    Shafiq kemudian melarikan diri bersama anaknya sambil dihujani peluru yang dilepaskan tentera kerajaan.

    Beliau kemudian bersembunyi di sebuah jelapang padi dan melihat dari jauh kampung Kyet Yoepin dibakar oleh kerajaan.

    “Dah tak ada rumah lagi. Semua sudah dibakar,” kata Shafiq.

    Tentera kerajaan suka wanita muda

    Noor Ankis mengatakan tentera kerajaan membongkar semua rumah pada waktu pagi untuk mencari wanita muda.

    “Mereka kumpulkan kesemua wanita beramai-ramai dan membawa mereka ke satu tempat.

    “Yang mana mereka suka, mereka rogol. Di tempat itu, hanya ada tentera kerajaan dan wanita, tiada orang lain,” jelas Noor Ankis.

    Sufayat Ullah, 20 terjaga dari lena tidur selepas dikejutkan dengan bunyi tembakan.

    “Tentera menggunakan parang apabila mereka sudah dekat dengan penduduk.

    “Kalau jauh, mereka tembak,” kata Sufayat mengingati kejadian ngeri berkenaan.

    Sufayat melepaskan diri selepas terjun ke dalam sungai dan berenang sejauh yang boleh.

    Beliau tinggal di dalam air selama dua hari sebelum mendapat tahu tentera kerajaan telah membakar kediaman keluarga. Ibu, ayah dan dua adik beradiknya ditinggalkan di dalam rumah yang sedang dibakar dan maut.

    “Saya rasa tidak tenteram. Mereka sudah bunuh ibu dan ayah saya. Apa lagi yang tinggal untuk saya di dunia ini?” katanya sambil mengelap air mata.

     

     

    Source: SinarHarian

  • Ethnic Rakhine MPs Refuse To Meet UN Envoy Probing Rohingya Abuse

    Ethnic Rakhine MPs Refuse To Meet UN Envoy Probing Rohingya Abuse

    The ruling party in Myanmar’s Rakhine state government said Friday (Jan 13) it refused to meet a UN envoy who is probing allegations of horrific abuse of Rohingya Muslims by security forces in the region.

    Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, was expected to hold talks with members of the Arakan National Party in the state capital Sittwe, before travelling north to an area under military lockdown on Saturday.

    Lee has faced threats and been branded a “whore” by Buddhist hardliners on previous visits for her criticism of how Myanmar treats the Rohingya, a stateless group that has suffered years of poverty and repression.

    They have been targeted by security forces during a three-month crackdown in northern Rakhine that the UN said has seen at least 65,000 Rohingya flee across the border to Bangladesh.

    “They offered to meet with us from their side but we have no plans to meet them,” the vice president of ANP, Khine Pyi Soe, said of Lee’s arrival.

    “I don’t think that meeting with them is very important,” he added.

    Lee’s spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

    Parts of northern Rakhine have been under military control since October as the army launches “clearance operations” to find Rohingya insurgents allegedly behind deadly raids on police border posts.

    The crisis has drawn a storm of international criticism for the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which took power in March.

    Lee has slammed the lockdown as “unacceptable” and called for an international investigation into claims troops have raped, murdered and tortured civilians from the Muslim minority.

    Ahead of her trip, she said violence in Rakhine had contributed to “disquiet regarding the direction that the new government is taking in its first year”.

    Muslim-majority Malaysia has lashed out at Nobel laureate Suu Kyi for not stopping the violence, and next week will host foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for talks on the crisis.

    Bangladesh has urged Myanmar’s government to end the violence and take back the thousands of refugees that have entered already overcrowded camps along the border.

    “Bangladesh has demanded (the) quick restoration of (a) normal situation in Rakhine state so that Myanmar nationals… can quickly go back home,” foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali said after meeting Myanmar’s special envoy in Dhaka this week.

    Myanmar’s foreign ministry said the two sides had “agreed to commence consultations for verification and repatriation” of those who had fled the lockdown.

     

    Source: CNA