Latest news with #Chaw
Daily Express
5 days ago
- Daily Express
Director fined for unlabelled, unapproved electrical cables
Published on: Wednesday, June 18, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jun 18, 2025 By: Jo Ann Mool Text Size: The charge was framed under Regulation 109A(2)(b) of the Electricity Regulations 1994, punishable under Regulation 122 of the same regulations, which carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or up to one year in jail, or both. Kota Kinabalu: A company director was fined a total of RM6,000 by the Magistrate's Court here on two counts related to unlabelled and unapproved electrical cables, six years Chen Sin, 49, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin to both charges on Tuesday. Advertisement Chaw, on the first count, was fined RM2,500 or six months in jail for keeping 42 rolls of insulated PVC cables of various brands and models that were not properly labelled, with the intention to sell them. The offence was committed on Oct 31, 2019, at 4.30pm, at Ideal Supply (KK) Sdn Bhd, Jalan Tuaran, Inanam. The charge was framed under Regulation 109A(2)(b) of the Electricity Regulations 1994, punishable under Regulation 122 of the same regulations, which carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or up to one year in jail, or both. On the second count, Chaw was fined RM3,500 or six months in jail for displaying 139 units of similar PVC cables, classified as low-voltage equipment commonly sold directly to the public, without a Certificate of Approval from the Energy Commission, at the same place and time. The charge falls under Regulation 97(1)(b) of the Electricity Regulations 1994, also punishable under Regulation 122, which provides for a maximum penalty of RM5,000, a year's jail term, or both. The facts of the case presented by the prosecution, stated that the authorities found 182 rolls of various domestic electrical cables displayed for sale during an inspection of the premises. A preliminary analysis showed that none of the cables had the required Certificate of Approval from the Energy Commission and were not labelled in accordance with Regulation 98 of the same regulations. All the cables were subsequently seized. Under Regulation 97(1)(b), subject to several other provisions, no person may manufacture, import, display, sell, or advertise low-voltage electrical equipment commonly sold to the public without prior approval from the Energy Commission. Meanwhile, Regulation 98 allows the Commission to require approved electrical equipment to be labelled in a prescribed manner. Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Hafez Abu Hassan prosecuted. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Boston Globe
10-06-2025
- Boston Globe
How scammers are using AI to steal college financial aid
'I just can't imagine how many people this is happening to that have no idea,' Brady said. The rise of artificial intelligence and the popularity of online classes have led to an explosion of financial aid fraud. Fake college enrollments have been surging as crime rings deploy 'ghost students' — chatbots that join online classrooms and stay just long enough to collect a financial aid check. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In some cases, professors discover almost no one in their class is real. Students get locked out of the classes they need to graduate as bots push courses over their enrollment limits. And victims of identity theft who discover loans fraudulently taken out in their names must go through months of calling colleges, the Federal Student Aid office and loan servicers to try to get the debt erased. Advertisement On Friday, the US Education Department introduced a temporary rule requiring students to show colleges a government-issued ID to prove their identity. It will apply only to first-time applicants for federal student aid for the summer term, affecting some 125,000 borrowers. The agency said it is developing more advanced screening for the fall. Advertisement 'The rate of fraud through stolen identities has reached a level that imperils the federal student aid program,' the department said in its guidance to colleges. An Associated Press analysis of fraud reports obtained through a public records request shows California colleges in 2024 reported 1.2 million fraudulent applications, which resulted in 223,000 suspected fake enrollments. Other states are affected by the same problem, but with 116 community colleges, California is a particularly large target. Criminals stole at least $11.1 million in federal, state, and local financial aid from California community colleges last year that could not be recovered, according to the reports. Colleges typically receive a portion of the loans intended for tuition, with the balance going directly to students for other expenses. Community colleges are targeted in part because their lower tuition means larger percentages of grants and loans go to borrowers. Scammers frequently use AI chatbots to carry out the fraud, targeting courses that are online and allow students to watch lectures and complete coursework on their own time. In January, Wayne Chaw started getting emails about a class he never signed up for at De Anza Community College, where he had taken coding classes a decade earlier. Identity thieves had obtained his Social Security number and collected $1,395 in financial aid in his name. The energy management class required students to submit a homework assignment to prove they were real. But someone wrote submissions impersonating Chaw, likely using a chatbot. 'This person is typing as me, saying my first and last name. ... It's very freaky when I saw that,' said Chaw. Advertisement The fraud involved a grant, not loans, so Chaw himself did not lose money. He called the Social Security Administration to report the identity theft, but after five hours on hold, he never got through to a person. As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the Education Department, federal cuts may make it harder to catch criminals and help victims of identity theft. In March, the Trump administration fired more than 300 people from the Federal Student Aid office, and the department's Office of Inspector General, which investigates fraud, has lost more than 20 percent of its staff through attrition and retirements since October. 'I'm just nervous that I'm going to be stuck with this,' Brady said. 'The agency is going to be so broken down and disintegrated that I won't be able to do anything, and I'm just going to be stuck with those $9,000' in loans. Criminal cases around the country offer a glimpse of the schemes' pervasiveness. In the past year, investigators indicted a man accused of leading a Texas fraud ring that used stolen identities to pursue $1.5 million in student aid. Another person in Texas pleaded guilty to using the names of prison inmates to apply for over $650,000 in student aid at colleges across the South and Southwest. And a person in New York recently pleaded guilty to a $450,000 student aid scam that lasted a decade. Brittnee Nelson of Shreveport, La., was bringing her daughter to day-care two years ago when she received a notification that her credit score had dropped 27 points. Advertisement Loans had been taken out in her name for colleges in California and Louisiana, she discovered. She canceled one before it was paid out, but it was too late to stop a loan of over $5,000 for Delgado Community College in New Orleans. Nelson runs her own housecleaning business and didn't go to college. She already was signed up for identity theft protection and carefully monitored her credit. Still, her debt almost went into collections before the loan was put in forbearance. She recently got the loans taken off her record after two years of effort. 'It's like if someone came into your house and robbed you,' she said. The federal government's efforts to verify borrowers' identity could help, she said. 'If they can make these hurdles a little bit harder and have these verifications more provable, I think that's really, really, really going to protect people in the long run,' she said.
New Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: Taiwan-based singer Gary Chaw returns to Sabah for holiday with daughter
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian singer Gary Chaw recently returned to Sabah for a holiday with his 14-year-old daughter, Grace, as reported by China Press. On May 25, the 45-year-old, who is based in Taiwan, shared five photos on Instagram. The images showed him posing by a beach in Kota Kinabalu, dressed in a blue vest, orange shorts, and black flip-flops. His post was captioned: "Balik kampong! Back in Sabah." Several netizens also shared pictures on Xiaohongshu (Red Note) of Chaw and his daughter enjoying the sun and sea breeze. Many praised Grace for inheriting her mother's beauty, while others commented on how quickly she has grown, noting that she is now almost as tall as her father. Chaw also has a 16-year-old son, Joe, with his Taiwanese ex-wife, Wu Shuling, 46. The couple divorced in 2022 after 14 years of marriage but remain on good terms.
Borneo Post
30-04-2025
- Health
- Borneo Post
Miri Health Office launches ‘War on Sugar' campaign to promote healthier food choices
Chaw (centre) signs the 'War on Sugar' banner to symbolically launch the programme. Looking on are Englebert (left) and Dr P Raviwharmman. MIRI (April 30): The Miri Divisional Health Office launched a 'War on Sugar Advocacy: Sugar Label Reading Campaign and Healthy Supermarket Roadshow' at Boulevard Hypermarket here today. The campaign was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Miri Branch and Boulevard Hypermarket. The event was officiated by Chaw Zhi Jian, special officer to Miri MP Chiew Choon Man, who represented the MP at the launch. Also present were Miri Divisional Health Officer, Dr P Raviwharmman Packierisamy, KPDN Miri head Englebert Inggath Desmond Japar, and participants of the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) Trim & Fit Programme. According to a handout from the Miri Divisional Health Office, the campaign targets the general public and Trim & Fit participants, aiming to raise awareness on the importance of reading food and beverage labels ― especially sugar content ― and to encourage healthier choices in support of national healthy lifestyle efforts. The Sugar Label Reading Campaign is a part of the annual Healthy Supermarket Roadshow, an initiative under the Strategic Plan to reduce Sugar Among Malaysians 2024-2030. 'This habit should be cultivated as part of a healthy lifestyle to prevent non-communicable diseases and reduce risks such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease linked to excessive sugar intake,' the statement said. The campaign is expected to improve awareness around sugar consumption in both home-prepared meals and commercial food and beverages. The initiative also aims to lower the prevalence of nutrition-related diseases, improve productivity, and reduce the government's healthcare burden. The Miri Division Health Office added that it will continue collaborating with government and non-governmental agencies to ensure a more comprehensive, effective and structured approach. Healthy promotion messages will also continue to be delivered via clinics, community outreach, and social media platforms. Miri Health Office War on Sugar
