'Parents of missing Indian toddler want other child back from authorities'

Agencies
October 22, 2017

Houston, Oct 22: The Indian-American parents of the missing 3-year-old adopted Indian girl are expected to appear in a court tomorrow to fight to try to get back their other child, US media reported. 

The mysterious disappearance of the Sherin Mathews from her home over two weeks ago led to the Child Protective Services (CPS) removing the 4-year-old biological girl from the home of Wesley Mathews and Sini Mathews, CBS News reported. 

The CPS says it's a standard custodial hearing, as the parents ask a judge to let them bring their biological daughter home in Richardson city in the US state of Texas. The CPS has previously said it had been involved with the Mathews prior to Sherin's disappearance, but refused to say for which child and why they were called in.

The father, Wesley Mathews, was arrested and charged with child endangerment after he told police he left his adopted daughter, Sherin, alone outside their home at 3:00 a.m. October 7.

Wesley, 37, told Richardson Police he made Sherin stand by a tree about 100 feet from their home as punishment for not drinking her milk. After 15 minutes when he went out to see her, Sherin was missing, Wesley told police. He waited until 8:00 am to report her missing.

Wesley is on bond, being tracked with a GPS monitor. As part of his release, the court says he cannot have contact with any minor child.

The girl's mother does not face any charges. She was in the house at the time, but was reportedly asleep and unaware of what her husband was doing, according to police.

Meanwhile, Richardson Police Department in its latest statement on the Sherin's missing case said that detectives have been going door-to-door at businesses and locations that may have additional information and evidence important to this case.

"Searches being conducted are very specific as we learn more through evidence being collected. Much of the evidence we have obtained requires analysis which takes time to process at a forensic level.

"As you may have learned from news media, many items collected through search warrants are also being analysed. As we continue, findings will be available less often due to the sensitive nature of what is discovered," the police said in a statement on Facebook.

An earlier statement said that during the course of this investigation, police have developed information that has lead them to more specific areas. Multiple searches were conducted in fields, creeks and wooded areas. Drones were also deployed for the searches.

Detectives are also working through the video surveillance collected.
"The process of reviewing evidence both digital and physical, as well as witness statements is a time consuming process and we ask for patience as we make progress," the earlier police statement said.

Sherin's case has caught the attention of India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

"We are deeply concerned about the missing child. Indian Embassy in US is actively involved and they keep me informed," Swaraj tweeted on October 19.

"We are closely monitoring Sherin Mathews case. We have established the contact with the community and authorities," the Consul General of India in Houston, Anupam Ray had tweeted.

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Agencies
July 22,2020

Houston, Jul 22: China said on Wednesday that the US has ordered it to close its consulate in Houston in what an official called an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage China-US relations.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the action, which comes as tensions rise between the world's two largest economies. He warned of firm countermeasures if the US does not reverse its decision.

The unilateral closure of China's consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China, Wang said at a daily news briefing.

There was no immediate confirmation or explanation from the U.S. side.

Media reports in Houston said that authorities had responded to reports of a fire at the consulate. Witnesses said that people were burning paper in what appeared to be trash cans, the Houston Chronicle reported, citing police.

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News Network
January 20,2020

Langkawi, Jan 20: Malaysia will not take retaliatory trade action against India over its boycott of palm oil purchases amid a political row between the two countries, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.

India, the world’s largest edible oil buyer, this month effectively halted imports from its largest supplier and the world’s second-biggest producer in response to comments from Mahathir attacking India’s domestic policies.

“We are too small to take retaliatory action,” Mahathir told reporters in Langkawi, a resort island off the western coast of Malaysia. “We have to find ways and means to overcome that,” he added.

The 94-year-old premier of Muslim-majority Malaysia has criticised New Delhi’s new religion-based citizenship law and also accused India of invading the disputed region of Kashmir.

Mahathir again criticised India’s citizenship law on Monday, saying he believed it was “grossly unfair”.

India has been Malaysia’s largest palm oil market for the past five years, presenting the Southeast Asian country with a major challenge in finding new buyers for its palm oil.

Benchmark Malaysian palm futures fell nearly 10% last week, their biggest weekly decline in more than 11 years.

New Delhi is also unhappy with Malaysia’s refusal to revoke permanent resident status for controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India.

Mahathir said even if the Indian government guarantees a fair trial, Naik faces the real threat of vigilante action and that Malaysia will only relocate the preacher if it can find a third country where he would be safe.

“If we can find a place for him, we will send him out.”

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Jul 28: Malaysia's ex-leader Najib Razak was found guilty Tuesday in his first trial over the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal, two years after the fraud contributed to the downfall of his long-ruling government.

The former prime minister could now face decades in jail after being convicted on all charges in the case related to the looting of sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

Billions of dollars were stolen from the investment vehicle and spent on everything from high-end real estate to pricey art, while investment bank Goldman Sachs also became embroiled in the scandal.

Anger at the looting played a large part in the shock loss of Najib's long-ruling coalition in elections in 2018, and he was arrested and hit with dozens of charges following his defeat.

The verdict was a test of Malaysia's rule of law. It comes about five months after Najib's scandal-plagued party returned to power as part of a coalition, development observers had feared could affect the outcome of the case.

About 16 months after it began, the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivered the verdict in Najib's first trial, which centred on the transfer of 42 million ringgit ($9.9 million) from a former 1MDB unit, SRC International, into his accounts.

Najib had vehemently denied wrongdoing.

But Judge Mohamad Nazlan Mohamad Ghazali took apart all the arguments put forward by his defence, and found him guilty on the seven charges he faced.

"In conclusion, after considering all the evidence in this trial, I find the prosecution has successfully proven the case," the judge told the court.

The charges were one of abuse of power, three of criminal breach of trust and three of money-laundering.

The counts of abuse of power and criminal breach of trust are punishable by up to 20 years in jail each, while the money-laundering charges are punishable by up to 15 years each.

Sentencing was not handed down straight away. The 67-year-old will likely appeal and he may not be sent to jail immediately. If his conviction is upheld, he will also be barred from political office for several years.

Najib had insisted he was ignorant of the transactions.

The defence team portrayed Najib as a victim and instead sought to paint financier Low Taek Jho, a key figure in the scandal who has been charged in the US and Malaysia, as the mastermind.

Low, whose whereabouts are unknown, maintains his innocence.

Prosecutors insisted Najib was in control of the 1MDB unit, SRC International.

The return of Najib's party to power as part of a coalition in March followed the collapse of Mahathir Mohamad's reformist administration.

Since then, 1MDB-linked charges were unexpectedly dropped against the ex-leader's stepson Riza Aziz, a producer of Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street", in exchange for him agreeing to return assets to Malaysia.

Prosecutors also dropped dozens of charges against Najib ally Musa Aman, the former leader of Sabah state.

The amounts involved in Najib's first case are small compared to those in his second and most significant trial, which centres on allegations he illicitly obtained more than $500 million.

Malaysia had charged Goldman Sachs and some current and former staff, claiming large amounts were stolen when the bank arranged bond issues for 1MDB.

But the two sides agreed to a $3.9 billion settlement last week in exchange for charges being dropped.

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