Latest news with #Zhuo
New Paper
21 hours ago
- New Paper
Jail for man who violated PPO 12 times, assaulted elderly parents
A man who attacked his elderly parents after quarrelling over financial matters, even as he violated a Personal Protection Order (PPO) 12 times, was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison on July 25. Zhuo Chunsheng (transliteration), 47, faced two charges of voluntarily causing hurt and two charges of violating the Women's Charter. He was sentenced after pleading guilty to two of the charges, according to Shin Min Daily News. Slapped father, pulled mother's hair At around 2pm on January 23, Zhuo asked his father for $500 to open a new bank account, but the 74-year-old said that he had no money. In the ensuing quarrel, Zhuo slapped the elderly man. He received a stern warning after his father called the police. On May 10, the defendant was alone at home with his 73-year-old mother when they got into an argument because his mother had given CDC vouchers to his brother. In a fit of rage, he pulled his mother's hair and threw her mobile phone to the ground. When she tried to leave her flat, Zhuo prevented her from doing so as he was worried that she would call the police. She then sought help from passers-by who were handing out flyers. Upon seeing this, Zhuo took his mother's mobile phone and ran away. He was arrested early the next morning and has been remanded in custody ever since. I have forgiven him: Mother The prosecution told the court that Zhuo had a long criminal record, mostly comprising crimes of domestic violence against his parents. He also breached the PPO obtained by his parents 12 times. Therefore, he should be severely punished to achieve a deterrent effect. Zhuo, who was not represented by a lawyer, pleaded for leniency as he feared a reformative detention sentence or being locked up in a mental health institute for life. "I promise not to offend again. If I do, I will have nothing to say if you send me to reformative detention." Zhuo's mother also spoke in court, saying that she had forgiven him. She added that her son had diabetes and needed insulin. She feared that his condition would worsen and he might even have to undergo amputation. When sentencing Zhuo, the judge said that as a son, his responsibility was to take care of and love his parents, not to hurt them. The judge reminded Zhuo to remember what he had said in court, and expressed hopes that he would accept and cooperate with the rehabilitation plan arranged by the authorities.
AsiaOne
15-07-2025
- AsiaOne
'I worry for my kids': Loan sharks harass woman with funeral wreaths after friend allegedly uses her details , Singapore News
A woman's life became a nightmare after discovering that a friend had allegedly been stealing her identity card details to borrow money from loan sharks. Speaking to AsiaOne, the woman, who only wished to be known only as Zhuo, said she was overwhelmed with despair and frustration after receiving funeral wreaths on the evening of July 7. They were all addressed to her. Several of these wreaths were delivered to the music studio she owns in Jurong West, as well as to a beauty salon and a neighbouring residential unit located below her unit. "My son had arrived at our club to meet us when he noticed funeral wreaths placed outside our studio at around midnight. He called me immediately, and I rushed down and contacted the police," said the 60-year-old. Zhuo later found out that two other wreaths had also been delivered — one to the beauty salon located on the third floor and another to a neighbour's residential unit on the second floor. "I had to apologise to the neighbour and the salon owner for being dragged into this. I didn't want our relationship to turn sour because of this," said the mother of three. "This isn't the first time I've been harassed or received such funeral wreaths. I'm at my wits' end — it feels like an endless cycle." Harassment started in 2022 Zhuo shared that her ordeal began in April 2022 when her former neighbour informed her ex-husband about loan sharks harassing them in their estate. They were allegedly knocking on their doors, looking for the couple who have already moved out. At the time, Zhuo was already separated from her then husband and was living elsewhere. "My ex-husband relayed the message to our son, who then told me about it. I was totally dumbfounded as I had no idea what was going on. I've never borrowed money [from loan sharks before], so I was shocked," she said. She and her second husband - a singing instructor - opened a music studio in Jurong West in year 2020. She later discovered from her former neighbours that her name and details had been misused to borrow money from loan sharks. She promptly lodged her first police report for harassment. Friend initially denied involvement Shortly after that, Zhuo's former neighbours passed her a contact number which they had received from the loan sharks. She then realised it belonged to her friend - a former student from her husband's singing class with the surname Lum. According to Zhuo, Lum had once helped her to sign up for a health supplement membership during the Covid-19 period, during which Zhuo had sent her a copy of her NRIC details. She now suspects that Lum used that information to take loans in her name. "I confronted her, but she denied everything. Eventually, after much pressure, she agreed to settle the issue at that time," Zhuo recalled, adding that Lum managed to repay her debt to the loan sharks. [[nid:693192]] What Zhuo hoped would be a one-time ordeal quickly spiraled into a never-ending torment. "I thought that would be the end of it. But even after that, the harassment continued," she said. "She kept saying there's nothing she can do and that she's tired. Once, she even said, 'I might as well die.' That really put me in a difficult and helpless position. It's not the first time she's said that." Zhuo said that despite making police reports and repeatedly reaching out to Lum, things never improved. She said that she has reached out to the loan sharks to explain the situation, but the harassment still continued. She also pointed out that at some point, she become paranoid that loan sharks were stalking her on social media, prompting her to take down all her family photos on social media. "I removed all my family photos from Facebook especially those that have faces of my children. I worry for my kids and I don't want them to involved in this situation," she said. Zhuo revealed that she has filed eight police reports to date and estimated that the loans taken under her identity amount to more than $10,000. "I just want this to stop. I've never borrowed any money. I shouldn't be dragged into something I didn't do," she said. 'My health has been affected' Speaking to AsiaOne, Zhuo's husband who only wished to be known only as Chen, 59, said that he regrets taking in Lum as a student. "If she hadn't come to me for singing classes, none of this would have happened. I truly regret taking her in as my student," said Chen. "My health has been affected because of everything that has happened. I have suffered a stroke due to the stress, and I am now wearing a pacemaker." Chen also pointed out that despite the stress he faces, he believes that as long as he and Zhuo have not committed any illegal activities or crimes, they shouldn't have to worry about anything. "I am very upset but after all this I tell myself that life goes on and there is nothing much I can do. After all, I teach in this studio and there is a reputation for me to keep up to," said Chen. The couple also shared that they will be reaching out to their MP for help. AsiaOne has reached out to Lum for comment. [[nid:628603]]
Business Recorder
05-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Iron ore dips as focus shifts to softening China steel demand
BEIJING: Iron ore futures dipped on Thursday, as the focus shifted back to softening steel consumption in top consumer China's off-peak demand season. The most-traded September iron ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) closed daytime trade 0.14% lower at 701 yuan ($97.60) a metric ton. The benchmark July iron ore on the Singapore Exchange lost 0.8% to $94.7 a ton, as of 0701 GMT. Given the lack of core driving forces, prices of the key steelmaking ingredient are expected to fluctuate amid seasonally weak demand, analysts at Galaxy Futures said in a note. 'There is no big change to fundamentals in the iron ore market. The wave of upward momentum led by the price rally of coal faded, so ore prices also softened,' said Zhuo Guiqiu, an analyst at broker Jinrui Futures. However, downside potential is capped by a relatively high hot metal output, despite production cuts and declining portside inventories, Zhuo added. Hot metal output is typically used to gauge iron ore demand. Despite a trade truce between China and the United States, steel exports have recently shown signs of slumping, dragging demand, Galaxy's analysts added. Weak steel consumption is also a downside risk for feedstocks. Iron ore rebounds on short-covering Other steelmaking ingredients, coking coal and coke , recorded further gains albeit at a slower pace, rising 1.68% and 0.56%, respectively, following Wednesday's more than 6% rally. Steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were range-bound. Rebar nudged up 0.14%, hot-rolled coil lost 0.19%, wire rod added 0.06% and stainless steel advanced 0.2%.
