Foreign

Malaysia Impounds Chinese Ship Suspected of Looting British World War Two Wrecks

By Web News 428

Malaysia has detained a Chinese-registered vessel suspected of looting two British World War Two shipwrecks.

Report says, the bulk carrier was seized on Sunday for anchoring illegally at the site in the South China Sea.

Ammunition believed to be from the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, which were sunk by Japanese forces more than 80 years ago, was then found on board.

The UK Ministry of Defence had earlier condemned the alleged raid as a “desecration” of maritime war graves.

Old shipwrecks are targeted by scavengers for their rare low-background steel, also known as “pre-war steel”. The low radiation in the steel makes it a rare and valuable resource for use in medical and scientific equipment.

The British vessels, on the bed of the ocean some 100km off the east coast of Malaysia, had been targeted for decades.

The Royal Navy battleships were dispatched to Singapore during the war to shore up the defence of Malaya. They were sunk by Japanese torpedoes on 10 December 1941.

The strike – which occurred just three days after the attack on the US fleet in Pearl Harbour – killed some 842 sailors and is considered one of the worst disasters in British naval history.

Fishermen and divers first reported the presence of the foreign vessel to Malaysia authorities last month.

Local maritime police detained the Chinese ship on Sunday. The ship, registered in Fuzhou, had 32 crew on board, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement  Agency, MMEA, said in a statement.

Cannon shells “suspected to be from World War Two” were uncovered during a search of the vessel. Malaysian agencies are also investigating the provenance of the ammunition.

The MMEA added that it is linked to a cache of unexploded artillery, said to be from the two sunken vessels, that police seized from a private scrap yard in the southern state of Johor earlier this month.

In 2017, during a tour of Malaysia, a local diver showed the then Prince Charles images that documented damage to the HMS Prince of Wales inflicted by scavengers.

The Defence Secretary at the time responded by saying the UK would work with Malaysian and Indonesian governments to investigate claims that up to six British warships had been plundered in their waters.

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels also join our Whatsapp

BBC/Taiwo Akinola

Crime

Two Chinese Nationals Jailed for Money Laundering

By Web News 356

Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Mr. Meng Wei Kun and Mr. Xu Kuai to three years imprisonment each on one count and two count charges.

Delivering the judgement, the presiding judge, justice Abubakar Talba faulted an earlier judgment delivered by the Federal High Court Sokoto, which discharged and acquitted the accused persons on three count charges bordering on conspiracy, money laundering and attempted bribery to the tune of fifty Million nairas brought by the Sokoto Zonal Command of the EFCC.

Justice Talba warned the respondents who tried to frustrate the effort of the court in delivering justice noting that Court must allow cases to be heard on merits, in an effort to justify the trust reposed on the judiciary.

Justice Talba said the EFCC had proven Counts one and two of the three Count charges before the Federal High Court beyond a reasonable doubt.

According to Justice Talba, the respondents were charged with Conspiracy and making a cash payment in excess of the threshold provided by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 as amended in 2012. He said in an effort to discharge his responsibilities, the trial judge misconceived that no offence was committed which the appeal Court later established.

Justice Talba therefore convicted and sentenced the Chinese nationals to 3 years on each of the two Counts with an option of ten Million naira fine each on each count.

FRCN Abuja

Subscribe to our Telegram and YouTube Channels also join our Whatsapp Update Group