Five missing in landslide as rain lashes China's south and east
Six people were killed and more than 80,000 evacuated due to floods in southern Guizhou province in June, according to state media.
BEIJING - Five people are missing after a house was buried in a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall in south-west China on July 9 , authorities and state media said.
The landslide in Xuyong county in Sichuan province occurred after more than 150mm of rain fell in just three hours overnight, the local government said in a statement.
A rescue operation has been launched.
China has endured a summer of extreme weather, with downpours battering much of the south for weeks.
The most recent deluge forced the evacuation of more than 6,000 residents in Sichuan's Yibin city and 556 in nearby Chongqing, state media said on July 9.
Typhoon Danas also made landfall in China's east on the night of July 8, lashing Zhejiang province with rain and high winds.
Some areas of Zhejiang recorded 260mm of rainfall in just 24 hours as Danas approached. China's National Meteorological Centre predicted the storm could bring winds of up to 117kmh.
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Authorities suspended local rail services and warned that the heavy rainfall could bring flooding and more landslides.
Danas is expected to weaken as it heads west but could still bring flooding risks to already sodden inland regions.
Six people were killed and more than 80,000 evacuated due to floods in southern Guizhou province in June, according to state media.
A landslide on a highway in Sichuan province last week also killed three people after it swept several cars down a mountainside.
Another two people were killed in flooding in central Henan province in July . AFP
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AsiaOne
14 minutes ago
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I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons , Singapore News
The last image Mr Delfard Tay has of his 19-year-old daughter Shermaine is a video of her stumbling out of their three-room flat in Tanjong Pagar. She looks unsteady in the footage, as she tries to get up from the sofa she slept on in the living room. It was a familiar sight – and Mr Tay knew she had used Kpod, a type of vape pod containing liquid laced with the powerful anaesthetic drug etomidate. For months in 2024, he had argued with his only child, urging her to quit using Kpods. He knew how destructive substance addiction could be – after all, he had criminal convictions for drug trafficking and other offences. Mr Tay, 43, said his daughter had been under drug supervision for using methamphetamine or Ice, which she had consumed at her boyfriend's home some time between 2023 and 2024. It was her first brush with the law, and she did not abuse drugs after that, he added. She then tried to convince him that Kpods were safe, but her addiction to them ended her life. Mr Tay said with a sigh: 'I wanted to lead by example and tell her to stay away from drugs and Kpods... But it was a bit too late.' The timestamp on the minute-long video, captured by a security camera he had installed in his flat to monitor his grandmother, reads '2.30am, Sept 22, 2024'. At the time, Mr Tay, who is divorced, was at his girlfriend's home. About 90 minutes after his daughter left the flat, Mr Tay received a call from the police. She had been found at the foot of their HDB block. Her mobile phone was recovered from the 18th floor. There was no message or final call, said Mr Tay. A pathology report stated that the teenager died of multiple injuries after falling from a height. 'My mind went blank for 30 minutes when I was told how she died,' recalled Mr Tay. 'I went home to identify her body, still in a singlet and shorts. But when I saw the last video, I knew (her death) had something to do with Kpods.' Mr Tay, who handed the video to the police, declined to share it with The Straits Times. He also has two other videos of his daughter behaving erratically in 2024 while using a vape. Mr Tay said he does not want his daughter – whom he affectionately called Ah B, short for 'baby' – to be remembered as a user of Kpods. Instead, he showed videos of her on TikTok having fun and behaving like a typical teenager. Checks by ST showed she also posted numerous videos of herself using vaporisers, which have been banned in Singapore since 2018. In a May report, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said that Kpods sold in Singapore have been found to contain either etomidate or ketamine, a Class A controlled drug. An absentee father's regret Mr Tay, a manager at a logistics company, said his daughter told him in January 2024 that she was using Kpods. 'I asked her, 'Why are you doing all this?'' he said. 'I told her that after reading health warnings that vaping is unhealthy – why even try Kpods?' She showed him the device, saying: 'When you smoke it, you'll feel high.' 'She knew I was against (substance addiction),' Mr Tay told ST, adding that he did not want her to go down the wrong path like him. When told not to vape, she retorted that he did not understand young people and that he did not trust her. About four months later, the teen was caught on the home's surveillance camera in a semi-conscious state, convulsing. That was the first time they fought bitterly. 'I shared with her my experience with drugs and I told her that after coming out of prison (in 2022), I was never going to do drugs or participate in any vice... I wanted to be a good example for her,' Mr Tay said. 'But she wouldn't listen.' After that, her demeanour changed. She became quieter and seldom confided in him. Looking back on her life, Mr Tay said she lacked family love as he was an 'absentee father'. 'She wasn't looking up to me, but I really didn't know how to care for her as a single parent,' he said. 'My grandma and auntie took care of her.' When his daughter was about 10 months old, Mr Tay was imprisoned for drug trafficking. When she turned 14, he went back to prison. He spent a total of 10 years behind bars – over eight stints – for drug and gang-related offences from the age of 16. 'I'm not proud of it... I know I neglected her a lot of times,' he said. The teenager dropped out of school after Secondary 3 and promoted some products on social media. Troubling behaviour of Kpod abuse Mr Tay's story mirrors that of the mother of a 27-year-old man who became hooked on Kpods from October 2024. In an interview with Shin Min Daily News in June, the 56-year-old woman said she had to physically restrain her son after he came down from a vape-fuelled high and tried to jump out of the living room window. Security cameras installed in her home captured the distressing scene. During the violent struggle, her son scratched her neck. The woman, who was not identified, shared her story to remind other parents to pay more attention to their children and seek help if something is not right. In the past two months, netizens have posted numerous videos online showing young people shaking uncontrollably, purportedly after using Kpods. When ST showed Mr Tay a video clip from the internet of three intoxicated youths walking like zombies in Punggol, Mr Tay singled out one of them. [[nid:719505]] He said that whenever his daughter used Kpods, she walked in the same unsteady way, as if her joints were 'jammed'. In the days leading up to her death, she was quiet as usual and Mr Tay did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Although she suffered from an anxiety attack in 2019, there was no indication that she was depressed, according to Mr Tay. Lessons from loss Since his daughter's death, Mr Tay has been kept awake on some nights. 'Sometimes I can't sleep. I find myself thinking of her,' he said. 'I will busy myself with TikTok or playing computer games. When I close my eyes, I ask myself, 'Why didn't I do this or that (to help her)?'' Mr Tay will donate some of his daughter's clothes, but will keep her treasured make-up kit, scrapbook, letters and photos. Her birthday gift to him – a luxury-brand pouch and a set of Lilo & Stitch toys – are displayed in his office. Despite his jail time, Mr Tay has fond memories of his daughter growing up – from short breaks in Kuala Lumpur and a trip to Disneyland in Hong Kong after her PSLE. Photos show her smiling widely and, as her father recalled, she was always dancing with glee. In February, Mr Tay added a tattoo to the back of his left hand – an image of Crayon Shin-chan, a popular Japanese cartoon. His daughter often watched the show dubbed in Mandarin when she was a primary school pupil, while waiting for him to return from work. During the interview, Mr Tay sometimes turned silent, with his gaze fixed on the floor. 'I can't understand why she wanted to use this thing (Kpod),' he said. 'But when I think back... it was because of curiosity.' He recalled her saying that her urine would not test positive for any drug content. On Telegram, a post touted a 'convenient' way to get high, falsely claiming that drugs cannot be detected in urine tests. Some sellers claimed they also sold vape liquid with ketamine. A check by ST found that Kpods cost between $50 and $100. Mr Tay said police investigators told him that no drug content was found in his daughter during a post-mortem, but he did not receive any official document on this. [[nid:717961]] At her three-day wake, many of her friends from church and elsewhere turned up. 'Everyone was asking what happened, but I didn't have answers for them,' said Mr Tay. 'I was angry at first, but I don't blame any of Shermaine's friends for her death.' At the wake, he learnt that one of her friends had died from abusing Kpods in the same week. Mr Tay decided to share her story – and his regrets – so that other parents will know what to look out for. 'Teenagers from age 12 to 15 have access to mobile phones, and they have Telegram chats,' he said. 'Parents need to look into their (children's) mobile phones, know what kind of people they are mixing with, and that's quite important.' Mr Tay also wants young people to learn from Shermaine's death. 'I know you're curious about all these things (like Kpods),' he said. 'But do not try it. Once you cannot stop, you'll be in bondage to it for a long time, and it will not only affect you, but also your family members.' Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444 Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019 Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222 Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928 Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 Community Health Assessment Team: 6493-6500/1 Counselling TOUCHline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252 TOUCH Care Line (for seniors, caregivers): 6804-6555 Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800 Online resources This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier. WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump urged his political base on July 12 to stop attacking his administration over files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a case that has become an obsession for conspiracy theorists. Mr Trump's Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week there was no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a 'client list' or was blackmailing powerful figures. They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe. The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right – many of whom have backed Mr Trump for years – and strident criticism of Attorney-General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' Mr Trump said July 12 in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. 'We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' he added, referring to his 'Make America Great Again' movement. Many among the Maga faithful have long contended that so-called 'Deep State' actors were hiding information on Epstein's elite associates. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Government looking at enhancing laws around vaping to tackle issue of drug-laced vapes in Singapore Singapore Why the vape scourge in Singapore concerns everyone Singapore Organised crime groups pushing drug-laced vapes in Asia including Singapore: UN Singapore I lost my daughter to Kpod addiction: Father of 19-year-old shares heartbreak and lessons Singapore Prison school to NUS: At 36, former drug abuser finds it's never too late to get a degree Singapore Bland and boring? Some hospitals seek help from big names to enhance food menus for patients Asia Patriotism, peace and pain: The politics behind China's World War II narrative World US slaps 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico; EU warns of countermeasures 'Next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,'' furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted after last week's move. 'This is over the top sickening.' Far-right influencer Laura Loomer called for Mr Trump to fire Ms Bondi over the issue, labeling her 'an embarrassment'. But on July 12, Mr Trump came to the defence of his attorney-general, suggesting that the so-called 'Epstein Files' were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, without specifying what benefits they hoped to attain. He struck an exasperated tone in his admonishment of his supporters. 'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again,' he said. 'Let's... not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.' The US president called for Mr Patel and Ms Bondi to instead focus on what he terms 'The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020', which Mr Trump lost to Mr Joe Biden. The Republican has repeatedly perpetuated unfounded conspiracy theories about his loss being due to fraud. He called for the FBI to be allowed to focus on that investigation 'instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB - SHE'S GREAT!' Mr Trump, who appears in at least one decades-old video alongside Epstein at a party, has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier. 'The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been,' said FBI Director Patel on July 12, hours before Mr Trump's social media post. Not everyone, however, seemed to be on the same page. US media reported that Mr Dan Bongino – an influential right-wing podcast host whom Mr Trump appointed FBI deputy director – had threatened to resign over the administration's handling of the issue. AFP
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3 hours ago
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Prison school to NUS: At 36, former drug abuser finds it's never too late to get a degree
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Behind every academic result is a young person quietly chasing their dreams, beating the odds and hoping to make something of themselves. In this monthly series, More than Grades, we tell the stories of young people who are making waves in school and beyond. NUS graduate Mason Lim had once dropped out of school to build a lucrative poker community. SINGAPORE – In mid-2017, Mr Mason Lim woke up disoriented to find himself strapped down in the psychiatric ward of Changi Prison, subdued in a three-way restraint where only one hand was free to move. He was then 28 years old, going through drug withdrawal symptoms, and facing the start of his four years and four months' prison stay and 10 strokes of the cane for drug-related charges. For nearly three weeks, he lay confined on a plastic bed, never imagining how his life would eventually turn out. On July 13, Mr Lim, now 36, graduates from the National University of Singapore, with an honours degree in communications and new media, a feat paved from a winding road that saw him quitting school twice. In 2006, he joined Victoria Junior College but dropped out after just three months. 'The textbooks were super thick, and back then I didn't like to read much,' he said. Upset that he was not allowed to join its football team because he had entered the school through its Direct School Admission scheme for hockey, he impulsively decided to leave. That year, he enrolled in Temasek Polytechnic's hospitality and tourism management course. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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He moved out of his parents' home in Tampines and decided to rent an apartment with a friend to host poker games together. Hosting five sessions a week, he pocketed at least $10,000 a month. 'At that age, seeing that kind of money, school was like secondary,' said Mr Lim, who has an older brother. He was almost at the finish line of his diploma programme, but left in his fourth year following changes the school made to tutorial attendance requirements. 'I used to be able to not go to school, and then at the end of the whole semester, just take the supplementary papers, pass, and then progress to the next semester,' he said. His luck ran out at the end of his third year, when the school mandated at least 85 per cent attendance for tutorials in order to pass. Mr Mason Lim lived the high life earning big bucks when he was hosting poker games in his residence. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASON LIM By the time he dropped out of polytechnic in 2009, Mr Lim had built up a lucrative poker community, and moved to a rented terraced house with his poker business partner. His mother, Madam Maureen Chua, 67, told The Sunday Times that she was disappointed in his choices and felt devastated as he was a bright child. 'I could only advise him, but my advice fell on deaf ears. Plus, I wasn't aware of what he was doing, so it came as a shock to me,' said the homemaker. Mr Lim's father has since retired as an in-flight supervisor. Mr Mason Lim's mother, Madam Maureen Chua, said she was devastated by his decision to quit JC and Poly. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASON LIM The next year, another friend told him he could earn a lot more as a football bookie with his established network of gamblers. 'Within six months, I built my network to the point where I was making about $30,000 to $60,000 a month,' he said. As a 21-year-old then with access to so much cash, Mr Lim said he could not understand the proper value of money. When his relationship with a friend went sour after his friend failed to return a $180,000 loan, Mr Lim moved to Thailand in 2011 for 2½ years. He thought moving away would be an escape from his fast-paced life. Initially, he had enough savings to rent a condominium unit, get a car and pay for his living expenses in Bangkok. He would fly to Macau once a month to play poker to earn some money. Still, he felt empty inside. In Thailand, he looked for relief by searching online for illegal drugs. His poison of choice was tramadol, an opioid used for pain management. The first time he tried it, he popped all 10 at one go. After three weeks of consuming at least 10 tramadol tablets every day, Mr Lim decided to stop, fearing that he would slip into addiction. He realised the tablets contained opiates, after doing some research. 'It's mini heroin, so to speak. The one class of drug I told myself I would never ever touch, because I know just how deadly opiates can be. I had accidentally become a heroin addict.' However, with easy access to tramadol then, he gave in to temptation. What followed was a nearly two-year routine of consuming up to 30 tablets a day. In 2013, Thailand tightened controls on tramadol due to growing abuse concerns. With supply drying up, Mr Lim decided to return to Singapore. Back here, he resumed hosting poker games, but felt the toll of his three-year tramadol addiction on his mind and body. 'It wasn't just a mental thing. I realised I couldn't even climb the stairs at 24 years old to go to the toilet on the second floor at home.' His downward spiral culminated in his first arrest on drug-related charges in February 2014. Over the next few years, he was arrested four more times before being sentenced in mid-2017 to more than five years in prison and 10 strokes of the cane. Behind bars, he turned to the Catholic faith and decided to complete his A levels. 'What else is there to do in prison? That's the most productive thing I could do inside,' he said. In an environment free from distractions, Mr Lim aced the examinations, becoming the Prison School's top student with five As and one B. Mr Mason Lim aced his A-level examinations in prison school as he was free from distractions. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASON LIM Upon his early release in July 2021, he was accepted into NUS' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and received the Yellow Ribbon Fund Star (Skills Training Assistance to Restart) Bursary, which fully covered his university tuition fees. 'I was happy to be given a second chance, where they look beyond my past and see my results,' he said. He chose to study communications and new media, drawn by the course description that it would be 'dynamic' and 'fun'. 'I guess business will come naturally. I don't need to study business to do business,' he said, adding that strong communication skills would be valuable for future ventures. One of his NUS lecturers, Dr Jinna Tay, said she never would have guessed his turbulent past – he looked like any other undergraduate and blended in with his cohort. Mr Mason Lim with his lecturer Dr Jinna Tay, a senior lecturer in communications and new media at NUS, at University Town on July 4. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO Dr Tay said Mr Lim was not in a rush to share his views all the time, unlike his peers. But when he did speak up, they were well thought out and showed his level of maturity. While studying at NUS, Mr Lim sold high-end vacuum cleaners and earned between $12,000 and $15,000 a month, as he did not want to burden his parents financially. He also managed an external football team, and volunteered at Meet-the-People Sessions and elderly home visits in the Cheng San neighbourhood. This time, he was more determined to finish school. 'I don't want to quit any more,' said Mr Lim, who is looking forward to a career in real estate. He is currently living with his girlfriend, a marketing director, in her condominium unit. On whether he thinks public stereotypes of former offenders may make it difficult for him to move on, he said the court of public opinion never bothered him. 'When people say this can't be done, I cannot relate. Because if you really want something, then you go out and get it.'
