Singapore Court Orders Largest Block of Illegal Streaming Sites in Singapore
The Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) welcomes the ongoing ability and willingness of Courts in Singapore to take action against illegal streaming sites that recent studies have shown pose significant malware and security risks to consumers Singapore, Mar 1, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – The Asia Video Industry Association’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) commends the Singapore High Court for granting an Order to block 30 illegal streaming sites and almost 150 associated domains responsible for the distribution of considerable quantities of illegally streamed content in Singapore. The Order was obtained by CAP members, BBC Studios, Discovery Communications, LaLiga, the Premier League and TVB International against illegal streaming sites that were offering access to some of the most sought-after content including premium sports, drama and entertainment. The Order covered the greatest number of sites and domains yet sought by CAP members. Under the Order Internet Service Providers must disable access to these illegal sites and their associated domains. The Order is part of CAP’s ongoing campaign in Singapore and around the region against illegal streaming sites. “Illegal streaming sites are s...
7 men arrested for suspected illegal gambling; 49 people under investigation
SINGAPORE - Seven men, aged between 37 and 53, were arrested for their suspected involvement in illegal gambling activities in three police operations in October and November. Another 45 men and four women, aged between 37 and 83, are also being investigated for illegal gambling, horse betting and remote gambling offences, said the Singapore Police Force on Wednesday (Dec 1). On Oct 29, officers from Central Police Division conducted an enforcement check on a shophouse unit in Norris Road suspected to house illegal gambling activities. Two men, aged between 37 and 53, were found to have allegedly organised illegal gambling activities for nine other men, aged between 37 and 67, who were also in the unit. The police said gambling equipment, such as poker cards, was found and seized, and seven men were arrested. The remaining four are under investigation. "All 11 men are assisting with investigations into breaches of safe distancing measures under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020," added the police. On Nov 20, officers from Woodlands Police Division conducted an enforcement check in Marsiling Road. A man and a woman, aged between 60 and 62, were alleg...
Waste management firm fined $17,000 for illegal discharge into Tuas sewers
SINGAPORE - A waste management firm that was fined $12,200 in 2018 over illegal discharge of liquid waste was handed another penalty last month for a similar offence. NSL Oilchem Logistics was fined $17,000 for the illegal discharge of trade effluent, or liquid waste created by businesses, into public sewers on two occasions. It was convicted of three charges on Oct 12 for the two incidents last year - on Sept 24 and Oct 26. National water agency PUB said on Wednesday (Nov 24) that between August and October last year, its regular sampling on several occasions detected abnormally high levels of regulated substances, such as heavy metals, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) at night in public sewers in Tuas. COD is a measure of water quality. These readings were traced to NSL's premises in Tuas Avenue 12. During a routine inspection by PUB on Sept 24 last year, it found that NSL had discharged trade effluent containing heavy metals beyond permissible levels into public sewers. On Oct 26 last year, PUB carried out a "surprise late-night inspection" and caught NSL personnel illegally discharging liquid waste. PUB said: "This time, NSL had also tampered with the monitoring equipment and s...
PallyCon adds a powerful Anti-piracy solution to trace illegal content leak sources on OTT platforms
MUMBAI, INDIA, Sep 7, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - PallyCon, a global leader in Multi DRM and content protection service provider, announced the launch of a powerful Anti-piracy solution for the OTT platforms. The solution tracks and mines illegal content leakage and sends a red alert to the source of the illicit content generator.The Anti-piracy solution supported by forensic watermarking integration globally monitors content leakage. It issues a DMCA Takedown Notice to the pirated website before eliminating unlawful content from the site.PallyCon's forensic watermarking integrated system intelligently crawls and detects hundreds of illicit pirated links over the internet. It takes down the same while providing customers with the choice to detect the source of piracy.Features of powerful Anti-piracy solution - - 24x7 Fully Automated service for monitoring- Global Coverage (for crawling, Detection & Takedown)- Automated and manual takedown service- Pre-integrated with PallyCon Forensic Watermarking- Unique identification of piracy source- Suitable for VOD contentExpressing his views on the launch, Mr James Ahn, Founder & CEO of INKA ENTWORKS, said that producin...
Dogs to sniff out wildlife smuggling, with ban on sale of ivory kicking in on Sept 1
SINGAPORE - Sniffer dogs are being used at border checkpoints to detect the smuggling of endangered animals, and items such as elephant ivory and pangolin scales, to further clamp down on wildlife smuggling. This new K9 unit under the National Parks Board (NParks) is specially trained to sniff out threatened and contraband fauna and timber that may be hidden in cargo or luggage. This comes as Singapore gears up for its ban on all trade in ivory, which will go into effect next week. The dogs' heightened sense of smell will allow them to detect items that may not be spotted by other methods, such as using radiographic scanners and visual inspections. There have been many seizures of pangolin scales and ivory at Singapore's borders over the years. In April and July of 2019, a total of 37.4 tonnes of pangolin scales were seized. The K9 unit was announced on Friday (Aug 27) at the official opening of Singapore's first Centre for Wildlife Forensics. Scientists at the centre, which has been operational for about a year now, have been closely studying animal and timber samples from illegal imports to identify the species and trace their source. This would help authorities here and elsewher...
Sihuan Pharmaceutical(0460.HK): Respond to the special directives to combat illegal medical aesthetics services, Advocate ‘Positive Energy’ of China’s Medical Aesthetics Industry
HONG KONG, Aug 11, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - On June 10, 2021, the National Health Commission, leading eight ministries and commissions, issued the "Notice on Distributing the Special Rectification Work Plan for Combating Illegal Medical Aesthetic Services." On August 9, 2021, 'The People's Daily' published an article entitled - 'Medical aesthetic sector needs to achieve best effects and prevent adverse consequences.' The article highlighted the current rectification plan in the medical aesthetic sector is to establish high industry standards, strengthen supervision, and crack down on illegal medical aesthetic services in order to create a clean and reliable medical aesthetic environment. This plan will foster new advances in medical aesthetic industry and encourage the sector's healthy development.The imported product - Letybo (botulinum toxin type A for Injection) is a medical aesthetic product produced by South Korea's Hugel Inc. Bain Capital, a well-known international private equity fund, is the controlling shareholder of Hugel Inc in South Korea. Beijing Meiyan Space Biomedicine Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sihuan Pharmaceutical, serves as the product's exclusiv...
158 people under investigation over illegal horse betting in S’pore
SINGAPORE - A total of 158 people here, aged between 36 and 83, are under investigation for their alleged involvement in illegal horse betting and non-compliance with safe distancing measures. Between April 24 and June 6, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the seven police land divisions clamped down on illegal horse betting activities at multiple locations including Telok Blangah Crescent, Bukit Merah View, Serangoon Central, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Woodlands, Marsiling, and Yishun. Housing Board officers also helped in the islandwide operation through enforcement against safe distancing breaches, said the police in a statement on Tuesday (June 8). During the operations, cash amounting to more than $76,000, several mobile phones and documents believed to be betting records were seized. The 147 men and 11 women are purportedly illegal bookmakers who accepted illegal horse racing bets, runners assisting the bookmakers and the gamblers who placed these bets. Under the Betting Act, anyone who bets with a bookmaker can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for not more than six months, or both. Those found guilty of bookmaking will be fined between $20,000 and $200,000, as wel...
Six charged over alleged role in illegal gambling syndicate
SINGAPORE - Six men appeared in court on Friday (March 26) over their alleged involvement with an illegal gambling syndicate. They were among 66 people who were arrested in an islandwide police crackdown on criminal syndicates in October 2018. The six are: Muk Yuen Seng, 49; Yong Chee Sum, 63; Aw Teck Huat, 53; Tan Beng Chee, 45; Tan Lei Peng, 34; and Steven Foo Kee Meng, 40. They are accused of being members of an organised criminal group that managed an illegal gambling den and face gambling-related charges. Foo and Tan Lei Peng are said to have instructed other individuals to commit gambling-related offences for the group. All six men are also accused of being members of an unlawful society. Foo and Aw were additionally charged under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA), for allegedly dealing with money earned from managing the gambling den. "This is the fourth organised criminal group identified for prosecution for various offences under the Organised Criminal Act (OCA), which came into force on June 1, 2016," said the police in a statement on Thursday. Under the OCA, those guilty of being in an organised criminal group...
Singapore woman deported from Australia for overstaying student visa, illegal sex work
SINGAPORE - A woman from Singapore living in Brisbane has been deported for overstaying her student visa, the Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a statement on Friday (March 19). It did not say where she was sent to. She had also been found guilty on state charges for engaging in prostitution and knowingly participating in the provision of the service by another, the ABF added. Those convicted of knowingly participating in the provision of prostitution face imprisonment of three years for the first offence in the state of Queensland, where Brisbane is located. The woman, who was not named, had allegedly facilitated illegal prostitution, which is also a breach of Covid-19 public health directions in Australia. She was detained by the ABF on Feb 25 and "removed" on March 11. ABF Assistant Commissioner Tim Fitzgerald said the removal of the woman shows how seriously the ABF was taking the alleged facilitation of illegal sex work. "We work very closely with our partners, including the Australian Federal Police and Queensland Police, to combat the myriad of issues associated with this sort of crime," he added. "When illegal prostitution is facilitated, other serious issues are often ...
Parliament: Illegal vehicle modification offences down; Tanjong Pagar Road not known to be a speeding-prone area
SINGAPORE - Stricter penalties as well as regular enforcement and inspections have brought the number of illegal vehicle modification offences down over the past five years, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor. In the past two years, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) issued an average of 610 notices of offences per month to owners of illegally modified vehicles. These modifications include non-compliant exhaust and lighting systems as well as tinted windows. The number of such offences fell from an average of 1,800 per month in 2015 to 550 per month last year, Dr Khor told Parliament on Monday (March 1). But taking workshops that perform these illegal modifications to task remains a challenge, she noted, even after the Road Traffic Act was updated in 2017 to give enforcement efforts against these workshops more teeth. "It remains challenging to establish culpability against the workshop," she said in response to Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten), who asked whether the authorities would step up enforcement and impose higher penalties against workshops that are complicit. "We need the vehicle owners to identify the workshops and then for them to agree to be prosecutio...
Police investigating 22 people for illegal betting, breaching safe distancing rules
SINGAPORE - Police are investigating 22 people for their suspected involvement in illegal betting activities and for breaching safe distancing measures under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. The 21 men and one woman, aged between 52 and 88, were rounded up in the Serangoon area on Wednesday (Dec 2) during an enforcement operation conducted by Ang Mo Kio Police Division. Under the Betting Act, any person who bets with a bookmaker is liable on conviction to a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both. Any person who acts as a bookmaker is liable on conviction to a fine of between $20,000 and $200,000, and a jail term of up to five years. The police said they will continue to clamp down on criminal activities, including illegal gambling. "Those found engaging in illicit activities will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law," they added. More on this topic Related Story 10 illegal gambling suspects nabbed in Geylang to also be probed over breaking Covid-19 rule
Parliament: Employers given warnings for illegally deploying maids could be fined instead, under MOM review of guidelines
SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reviewing its guidelines to see if employers who have received warnings for illegal deploying their maids to work at a different place should get a fine instead, said Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang on Thursday (Oct 15). "This is so that employers will take their responsibility towards their foreign domestic workers (FDWs) seriously," she said in her reply to Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) in Parliament. The ministry, however, has no plans to review the maximum penalty for the illegal deployment of FDWs, she said, adding that the number of such cases has remained relatively stable in the past few years. The issue of illegal deployment of FDWs came under the spotlight after Indonesian Parti Liyani, a former domestic worker employed by Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong and his family, was acquitted in September of stealing from them. Ms Parti had been told by Mr Liew's wife, Madam Ng Lai Peng, to go and help at the home of her son Karl. She said she also cleaned his office once a week for a year. The ministry said it had consulted the Attorney-General's Chambers and, in May 2018, issued a caution to Madam Ng and an ad...