Missing: radioactive isotope in Malaysia, morals in Japanese basketballers
Be careful complaining about mosque loudspeakers in Indonesia – or dodging national service in Singapore. Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan might be able to tell you why
Bad boys of Japanese basketball score – but nobody’s much impressed
Four Japanese basketball players have been punished and sent back home for buying sex while participating in the 18th Asian Games, the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) said. The four players, Yuya Nagayoshi, 27, Takuya Hashimoto, 23, Takuma Sato, 23, and Keita Imamura, 22, reportedly went to a Japanese restaurant in Jakarta to have dinner following their team’s victory on August 16, wearing their team uniforms. They left the restaurant after dinner and were approached by a tout on the street who introduced them to some women. They brought the women to a hotel where they conducted “inappropriate acts” and returned to the Athletes’ Village the following morning. The JOC conducted an investigation after receiving a report from outsiders, and the four players admitted to the misconduct.
What next? The rest of Japanese basketball team will continue to compete through September 1 with no substitutes for the four disgraced players. Japan has sent a 1,096-member delegation to the Games co-hosted in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province.
Malaysia hunts for missing radioactive material
Malaysian police are hunting for an industrial device containing radioactive material that went missing from the back of a pick-up truck earlier this month. The radiography device disappeared on August 10 as it was transported outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, the New Straits Times newspaper reported. Authorities fear the device, which contains the radioactive isotope iridium-192, could fall into the hands of militants and be used to make a dirty bomb, the paper said. Local police chief Mazlan Mansor said an investigation had been launched without giving further details. Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman confirmed the incident had taken place but insisted “everything is under control”. “There is nothing to be worried about at this moment,” he was cited as saying in The Star newspaper.
What next? Police initially detained two technicians who had been transporting the device, and reported it missing, reports said. However the pair were later released after investigations failed to link them to its disappearance.
