Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM and ALLISON LAI
AUTHORITIES in China are investigating a syndicate accused of stealing over 4,000 bodies from crematoriums and medical labs to harvest the bones for grafts.
Oriental Daily reported that the case came to light after prominent Chinese criminal lawyer Yi Shenghua shared details online.
Police in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, were looking into allegations of the stolen remains being used to produce lucrative allogeneic bone grafts, which are used for bone repair during surgeries.
A Taiyuan prosecutor confirmed a crime ring was “stealing and reselling corpses for profit”.
The scheme, estimated to be worth 380 million yuan (RM236mil), worked by illegally obtaining bodies and using them as raw materials.
During the probe, investigators seized over 18 tonnes of human bones and 34,077 finished products. The syndicate allegedly took control of four crematoriums from 2017 to 2019 to steal bodies.
While 75 suspects have confessed, more are expected to come forward or be uncovered.
> China Press reported that a secondary school had implemented a policy to save on electricity costs by “encouraging” students to turn off classroom fans after 5pm.According to a complaint received by Johor Baru City Council councillor Chan San San, the school had told parents that classrooms would have fans turned off before 9am and after 5pm.
This resulted in students attending afternoon classes in stifling heat and sweating profusely.
Chan questioned whether the school or education authorities were short of funds to pay electricity bills, adding that students would not be able to focus on their studies in such conditions.
She suggested that the school consider dismissing the students earlier instead.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
