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Tag: law

  • Bitcoin Is Un-Islamic, Says Turkey, As Price Soars Above $10,000

    Bitcoin Is Un-Islamic, Says Turkey, As Price Soars Above $10,000

    Turkish authorities have declared that Bitcoin is not accordant with Islam and has warned its citizens against buying the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

    Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, known as Diyanet, said that the cryptocurrency is widely used for nefarious and illegal activities, and is not sufficiently regulated, making it far more volatile than other currencies.

    “Buying and selling virtual currencies is not compatible with religion at this time because of the fact that their valuation is open to speculation, they can be easily used in illegal activities like money laundering and they are not under the state’s audit and surveillance,” Diyanet said. It added that Bitcoin had not been authorized by the state.

    The religious body took a decision on the digital currency at a meeting last Friday. Turkish citizens have still invested in Bitcoin despite the warnings from the government, and criminals are also capitalizing on the rise in the currency’s value.

    Gold plated souvenir Bitcoin coins are arranged for a photograph in London on November 20, 2017. Bitcoin, a type of cryptocurrency, uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks. Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty

    Earlier this month, Turkish police captured a gang who had extorted 450 bitcoins, worth around $3.3 million at the time, from a wealthy businessman, forcing him to transfer them from his laptop and hand over his online banking passwords. The gang targeted him because he showed off his flashy lifestyle on social media.

    As the digital currency rises in popularity, the president of Turkey’s Central Bank said that research is taking place into cryptocurrencies more generally. Murat Cetinkaya said that such digital currencies could “contribute to financial stability,” according to Bitcoin.com.

    The cryptocurrency is the financial story of 2017, rising from less than $1,000 at the start of January to more than $10,000 at the time of writing. Enthusiasts of the digital currency say it could continue its ascent, but financial juggernauts have expressed cautioned about its lack of regulation.

    Bitcoin’s market value remains less than $200 billion, a slither of the world’s $200 trillion in financial market assets, and cryptofunds—some run by top U.S. financiers—are beginning to pop up as confidence around Bitcoin’s potential spreads.

     

     

    Source: Newsweek

  • Confessions Of A Former Law-Intern: Bosses Used Young People With Financial Obligations As Pawns

    Confessions Of A Former Law-Intern: Bosses Used Young People With Financial Obligations As Pawns

    I had the misfortune of working at a boutique IP law firm for two weeks back in the days as an intern (hated it), and I noticed how strongly the bosses encouraged the young, unsuspecting associates to buy cars, buy houses, get married, and have kids. And whenever any of the senior associates had a new kid or purchased a new car, they were praised and glorified, so this created a peer pressure system where every employee competed with each other to see who can “establish their lives” and “live it up” the quickest.

    If you work in one of these companies, be very careful about listening to your boss.

    Well, OF COURSE they want you to increase your financial obligations/liabilities or at the very least sink into a consumerist mode where you’re unable to live frugally anymore even if you wanted to. If they had it their way, they want you to also surround yourself with equally-high-paying friends and friends who’re married with kids, so that you yourself are also sucked into these high-spending, low-happiness lifestyles.

    The more money you need to spend each month, the more dependent you’ll be on your job. The more dependent you are on your job, the weaker your bargaining power vis-a-vis your boss. The weaker your bargaining power vis-a-vis your boss, the less you get paid, the rarer you get promoted, and the less balls you have to leave your job or even demand better working conditions that you rightfully should be entitled to for working hard. Family men with mortgages and car loans and young children are the best candidates for employers with a power trip — it’s like the ultimate wet dream to push these sorry men around, because they have no choice but to swallow their pride and put up with all the bullshit you can rain on them. It even becomes a game to these bosses: they try to push the limits more and more (watch “Office Space” where Bill pushes Milton to the edge, and Milton still takes it) just to see what they can get away with, gleefully.

    I feel like an idiot for having to say these explicitly, but the behavior of some of my peers just convinces me that they don’t even know what’s going on.

    Source: NUS Confessions #39374

  • Thai National Jailed And Caned For Splashing Paint At The Pinnacle@Duxton Pre-school

    Thai National Jailed And Caned For Splashing Paint At The Pinnacle@Duxton Pre-school

    A Thai national who splashed red paint on a pre-school where a debtor’s children had attended was sentenced to 15 months’ jail and three strokes of the cane on Wednesday (March 15).

    Samroeng Sompop, 33, left the same evening by taxi after completing the loan shark harassment job at Modern Montessori International (MMI) pre-school on the third-level of a block at The Pinnacle@Duxton on Jan 13 last year.

    He pleaded guilty to causing annoyance to the childcare centre staff with Lee Tiow Kiong, 56, while acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender known as Kelvin in connection with a loan taken by the debtor.

    About 30 debtor’s notes with “O$P$” written on them were found on the floor nearby. The notes contained the names of the debtor and his family as well as their home address at one of the seven blocks at the residential complex.

    Two “Super Big Gulp” cups stained with red paint and wrapped in a plastic bag were found on the floor.

    Investigations showed that the debtor had taken a loan from a loan shark, known as Ah Siao, in August 2015 and had subsequently defaulted on payments.

    Deputy Public Prosecutor Amanda Sum said due to the harassment from unlicensed moneylenders at home and at his workplace from late September 2015, the debtor moved out and transferred his two children to another childcare centre.

    Sompop was arrested at Changi Airport on Feb 16 this year after his identity was established.

    Police had arrested Lee for a separate offence of loan shark harassment in March last year.

    Lee revealed during investigations that he had also committed the loan shark harassment at the MMI pre-school with Sompop by driving him there.

    The court heard that Sompop had come to Singapore on Jan 13 2016 on an all-expense paid trip sponsored by a person called Max, whom he knew from Thailand.

    Lee had picked him up that day from the hotel and told him that he would give him 20,000 baht (S$802) to commit harassment at the pre-school.

    After Sompop completed the job, Lee drove him to Queen Street where he took a taxi to Johor Baru, and eventually made his way back to Thailand.

    Lee has been dealt with.

    The maximum penalty for unlicensed moneylending harassment is five years’ jail, a $50,000 fine and six strokes of the cane.

     

    Source: ST

  • What You Need To Know About Rape In Singapore

    What You Need To Know About Rape In Singapore

    So what does rape constitute of? Here’s a (general) flowchart, it is subject to a variety of specific incidences and evidence though.

    Basically, rape consists of two components: the act of inserting a penis into a vagina and the absence of consent.

    “Statutory rape” refers to the ability of a girl to consent. If she is above 16, she can consent…but it is still an illegal act. If she is below 14, the laws deem her unable to consent at all, hence “statutory rape”.

     

    Source: FiveStarsAndAMoon

  • Cat Issue Likely To Become The “Solution” For Annoyed Cat Haters To Retaliate

    Cat Issue Likely To Become The “Solution” For Annoyed Cat Haters To Retaliate

    “Cats are not allowed in flats. They are generally difficult to contain within the flat. When allowed to roam indiscriminately, they tend to shed fur and defecate or urinate in public areas, and also make caterwauling sounds, which can inconvenience your neighbours.”

    I saw that my buddy Sameer Ab. Kadir received a HDB letter as a result of a neighbour complaining. So, decided to check the HDB website for the law on this and true enough, they did list it down.

    The ruling also didn’t provide any provision, unlike they had for dogs. So, if the cat can be contained, does not roam indiscriminately, shed fur, defecate or urinate in public areas nor make caterwauling sounds, shouldn’t the cat then be allowed?

    I believe that HDB needs to assess such complaints on a case by case basis. To go down to the location to conduct a personal observation to assess before issuing such a letter informing the owner that they will have the said pet removed from the premises by a certain date.

    The pet cat, like the pet dog, is a part of the family and being dependent on the owner for its sustenance, it will suffer its own form of PTSD or panic attack when removed from familiarity and may not survive in a new environment.

    Hope that HDB will be able to exercise discretion in handling this matter and to the neighbour who made the complain, I hope you spend a little bit more time with animals.

    My fear with such a complain going viral is that it then provides others who hate cats an ‘exit solution’ to their annoyance for cats and abuse the law to their own convenience.

    I’m sure a lot of people are shocked and will be standing in solidarity with Sam on this though.

    Hope your cats will get a fighting chance to stay at your home Bro. Give them that fight.

     

    Source: Ab Di Lar