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Law

Law
Latest news, analysis and opinion on the law and legal issues, including Hong Kong extradition law. Follow the latest on trials, court cases and justice.
Tourists walk at a shopping area in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: EPA
Indonesia

Bali wants illegal rentals to be legitimate as operators flag red tape

Authorities want to help unregistered accommodation providers secure permits to plug the tax collection gap.

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Indonesia

University of Indonesia suspends law students for sexually explicit group chat

Malaysia

Deepfakes, cloned voices: the new AI threat facing Malaysia’s creators

Hong Kong society

Editorial | Hong Kong’s U-turn on basketball betting a prudent move

Officials have warned that launching the betting scheme at this time would encourage participation in illegal prediction market gambling.

A screenshot of the NBA news website is juxtaposed against the Hong Kong Jockey Club betting branch in Shatin on September 11, 2025. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong landlords face HK$17,000 inspection bill over ignored water seepage

The plan shifts responsibility of shouldering inspection costs from government to flat owners who fail to address water seepage problems.

Japan

Japan jails ex-teacher for sharing voyeuristic student images

He is the first among an alleged teachers’ voyeurism ring to receive a prison sentence in a high-profile case that came to light last year.

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Hong Kong politics

Advisory body to be given power to probe department heads for serious offences

Hong Kong authorities will introduce subsidiary legislation as early as June, as part of broader effort to institutionalise official accountability.

The Hong Kong government headquarters in Admiralty. Photo: Edmond So
Technology

Letters | An AI twister is brewing on the legal horizon

Readers discuss the use of artificial intelligence for legal matters, and ethnic minority groups’ access to government services.

Hong Kong politics

Editorial | Path to rehabilitation of those arrested in 2019 unrest is welcome

A recently publicised Security Bureau programme opens the door for thousands to put the baggage of political turmoil behind them.

Malaysia

Malaysia rejects death penalty for drink-drivers, proposes victim compensation

Adding a compensation clause to the Road Transport Act will help victims avoid a long-drawn-out civil suit, minister says.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke visits family of motorcyclist killed in suspected drunk-driving incident. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong protests

Rehabilitation project open to all 2019 Hong Kong protest arrestees: Chris Tang

But security chief says authorities will still ‘act in accordance with the law’ when handling arrestees with clear evidence of alleged crimes.

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Anti-government protesters are detained by police during a demonstration in Causeway Bay in 2020. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong society

Time to act on stalled proposal toughening child abuse penalties, lawmakers say

SCMP check finds that only one of 13 cases of serious child abuse offences over more than two decades resulted in close to maximum 10-year sentence.

Corruption in China

China targets middlemen in renewed crackdown on ‘hidden’ corruption

The top court and prosecutor signal how the criminal law can be aimed at the enablers of graft.

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The Philippines

Will Philippine ex-president Duterte stand trial at the ICC, and for how long?

Judges are set to decide by late April whether to send Duterte’s case to trial, with any proceedings expected to move at a ‘glacial pace’.

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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte takes oath during a senate inquiry on the so-called war on drugs during his administration at the Philippine Senate on October 28, 2024, in Manila. Photo: AP
United States

US man pleads guilty to murdering 7 women, admits he killed another

He strangled the women, many of them sex workers, over a 17-year span and buried their remains in remote locations.

Rex Heuermann appears in Suffolk County court on June 6, 2024, in Riverhead, New York. Photo: TNS
Jimmy Lai trial

Court to hold hearing in July on confiscating Jimmy Lai’s properties

Sixty-minute hearing set for July 8 to handle confiscation order that authorities say will ‘cut off funding chains’ for national security offences.

Malaysia

Malaysian corruption watchdog secures arrest warrant for tycoon Daim’s sons

The move marks the latest development in a years-long probe into the ex-finance minister’s wealth.

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Singapore

Woman faces jail over Singapore crash that killed Indonesian girl in Chinatown

The lawyer for the woman, reportedly an Indian national, asked for a gag order, citing online posts that were ‘of xenophobic nature’.

Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani died after she was hit by a car while visiting Singapore’s popular tourist area of Chinatown in February. Photo: Handout
Cambodia

Why Cambodia’s new law may do little to combat its scam centres

Analysts warn the lack of provisions addressing the role officials and networks play in enabling scams may limit the law’s effectiveness.

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France

France’s Sarkozy challenges conviction over alleged Libya funding

He was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

The Philippines

Filipino taxi driver suspended after overcharging K-pop star Soobin in Cebu

Footage from the TXT member shows the driver demanding more than triple the usual price of a trip from the airport.

Choi Soo-bin is a member of K-pop group Tomorrow X Together, or TXT. Photo: Handout
Singapore

Singapore’s Shanmugam slams Bloomberg’s ‘venomous’ emails in defamation hearing

Cabinet ministers K. Shanmugam and Tan See Leng are suing Bloomberg over an article mentioning their personal property deals.

Singapore ministers Tan See Leng (left) and K. Shanmugam are suing Bloomberg for defamation. Photo: Facebook/Handout
Singapore

Singapore’s Shanmugam slams ‘hypocrisy’ over deported blogger Amos Yee

The minister says Yee’s case shows how foreign media and rights advocates have mistaken an offensive repeat offender for a free-speech icon.

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South Korea

‘Remorseless’ Yoon slammed for invoking Jesus in a note from South Korean prison

The ex-president may be a liability to his former People Power Party ahead of local elections on June 3 amid falling approval ratings.

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United States

US court reinstates US$656 million judgment against PLO and Palestinian Authority

Following a 2025 Supreme Court ruling, judges revive a decade-old verdict for American victims of terror attacks in Israel.

The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse on Foley Square, New York, where the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals is headquartered. Photo: AP
Singapore

Singapore’s Workers’ Party finishes probe into chief Pritam Singh’s conduct

The disciplinary panel will present its final report and recommendations to the Central Executive Committee later in April.

Worker’s Party chief Pritam Singh (centre) is followed by journalists as he leaves the Supreme Court during an appeals hearing on November 4, 2025. Photo: AFP
Scams and swindles

Cambodia’s high-stakes war on online scam compounds

Cambodia has vowed to stamp out the scam compounds on its soil by month’s end – but perpetrators remain drawn to the potential for huge profits.

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Malaysia

Malaysia drops appeal on abducted activist’s case, family still seeks answers

Rights group Suhakam says the police Special Branch was involved in the disappearances of Raymond Koh and another activist, Amri Che Mat.

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