A Singaporean man who decided to return to Singapore from China using an illegally obtained Ugandan passport has been jailed for four months today Thursday.

Leng Choun Keong, 50, left Singapore for China in 1995 and his Singapore passport expired in 2005, but Leng did not renew it. He also did not validate his stay in China, where he worked as a disc jockey and developed a relationship with a woman.

Leng pleaded guilty to one count of producing the Ugandan passport to mislead immigration officers when he arrived at Changi Airport on 8 January last year.

He also pleaded guilty to two charges under the Enlistment Act for failing to return to Singapore before the expiry of an exit permit. Both charges, for two periods lasting more than seven years and more than four years, were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

Leng was fined $9,000 (about Shs 31m) for both Enlistment Act charges. According to court documents, Leng reported for his full-time National Service (NS) on 1 September 1988 and completed his full-time NS on 13 December 1990. He was then assigned to an NS unit for his reservist stint.

Leng was issued three exit permits for overseas employment, spanning from 14 June 1995 to 3 April 1998. His last exit permit was valid from 4 April 1997 to 3 April 1998. Leng failed to return to Singapore by the expiry of his last exit permit and did not apply for a new permit. Reminder letters were sent to Leng but he did not respond.

Leng's last known location was in China, but authorities did not have his valid contact details. Leng also did not keep in contact with his family.

After Leng’s Singapore passport expired in 2005 while he was in China, he failed to renew it and subsequently lost the document. As he did not validate his stay in China, he overstayed there.

In 2018, Leng decided to return to Singapore as his mother and brother were sick. As he did not have a Singapore passport, and was afraid of being punished by the Chinese authorities for overstaying, he decided to procure a passport.

He approached a friend known as “Fredrick” in China for the purpose. Leng paid a sum of $20,000 (about Shs 70m) to Fredrick for the document. About a month later, Leng received the Uganda passport from Fredrick with his photo affixed on it and bearing name “Leng Christopher”, with date of birth “25 November 1969". His nationality stated “Uganda”, and place of birth stated “Malaysia”.

Leng remained in China until January last year, when he decided to enter Singapore using the fake passport. On 8 January last year, he produced the Ugandan passport to an immigration officer at the Arrival Section of Changi Airport for his arrival immigration clearance.

On 14 October last year, Leng approached the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in Singapore for citizenship services, and was flagged and referred to the Central Manpower Base for investigations.

Court documents state that Leng was arrested by ICA officers at the ICA Investigation Branch on 31 May this year. - The Observer

The US, UK and Australia have formed an Indo-Pacific security alliance that will allow for greater sharing of defence capabilities, a move that could deepen a growing chasm in US-China relations.

US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared together virtually to detail the new alliance, which will be called AUKUS (pronounced AWK-us).

"We all recognise the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term," said Biden, who said the new alliance reflects a broader trend of key European partners playing a role in the Indo-Pacific.

“We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may evolve.” 

The new security alliance is likely to be seen as a provocative move by China, which has repeatedly lashed out at Biden as he’s sought to refocus US foreign policy on the Pacific in the early going of his presidency.

Before the announcement, a senior administration official sought to play down the idea that the alliance was meant to serve as a deterrent against China in the region.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the alliance’s creation was not aimed at any one country, and is about a larger effort to sustain engagement and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific by the three nations.

“We will have a new opportunity to reinforce Britain’s place at the leading edge of science and technology, strengthening our national expertise, and perhaps most significant, the UK, Australia and the US will be joined even more closely together, " Johnson said.

The three countries have agreed to share information in areas including artificial intelligence, cyber and underwater defense capabilities, the official said.

They announced plans to support Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. To date, the only country that the United States has shared nuclear propulsion technology with is Britain. Biden said Australia is not seeking to develop a nuclear weapons test program and information sharing would be limited to helping it develop a submarine fleet.

The announcement of the new security alliance comes as the US-China relationship has deteriorated. Beijing has taken exception with Biden administration officials repeatedly calling out China over human rights abuses in Xianjing province, the crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong, and cybersecurity breaches originating from China, as well as Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and what the White House has labelled as “coercive and unfair” trade practices. 

Even as White House officials have repeatedly spoken out about China, administration officials say they want to work with Beijing on areas of common interest, including curbing the pandemic and climate change.

Biden spoke by phone with China’s President Xi Jinping last week amid growing frustration on the American side that high-level engagement between the two leaders’ top advisers has been largely unfruitful.

After the 90-minute phone call, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi expressed concerns that US government policy toward China has caused “serious difficulties” in relations.

Asked on Tuesday about media reports that Xi had declined to commit to meet with him in person, the US president said it was “untrue.”

The US and Australia, along with India and Japan, are members of a strategic dialogue known as “the Quad.” Biden is set to host fellow Quad leaders at the White House next week.

Biden has sought to rally allies to speak with a more unified voice on China and has tried to send the message that he would take a radically different approach to China than former President Donald Trump, who placed trade and economic issues above all else in the US-China relationship. 

In June, at Biden's urging, Group of Seven nations called on China to respect human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang province and to permit a full probe into the origins of Covid-19.

While the allies broadly agreed to work toward competing against China, there was less unity on how adversarial a public position the group should take.

The president has also sought to make clear to allies, particularly those in the Quad, that his administration would keep focused on China.

With Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Biden has underscored the US commitment to protecting the Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. 

In talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Biden has emphasised the need for “close cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.” And with Australia’s Morrison, the president has stressed that the two nations’ alliance was essential to stability in the region. Source: TRT World/AP

The MoU was signed last week by Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida, chief executive, QFC, and Nick Barigye, chief executive, RFL. Photo Gulf Times

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business centre in the region, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rwanda Finance (RFL) to facilitate initiatives that will promote the international development of both the QFC and Kigali International Financial Centre.

The pact would also enable the creation of a community between the fintech ecosystems of Qatar and Rwanda and initiate sharing of best practices for the development of Islamic finance in both markets.

The MoU was signed last week by Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida, chief executive, QFC, and Nick Barigye, chief executive, RFL. Under the agreement, both parties intend to encourage their respective regulatory authorities to enter mutual recognition agreements to open new business opportunities in both markets.

"This MoU marks the long-term cooperation between QFC and RFL to support businesses in Rwanda and Qatar through joint initiatives that open doors for skills development, knowledge exchange and investment and partnership opportunities," al-Jaida said.

The agreement takes QFC a step further in its efforts to forging durable partnerships with international markets that help support Qatar’s economic diversification and capacity building drive, according to him.

The agreement would also help promote capacity building and skills development through training programmes, knowledge transfer, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the financial landscape.

To support the development of both markets, QFC and RFL will work closely on developing joint initiatives, such as roundtables, conferences, seminars, and other events, to engage members of both Rwanda and Qatar’s business communities, further strengthening the economic ties between the two countries.

"This partnership between our financial centres builds on the excellent existing relations between Rwanda and Qatar. RFL and QFC will collaborate on international promotion, mutual recognition, and the creation of a strong fintech community for the benefit of both our jurisdictions, further enhancing the Kigali International Financial Centre’s attractiveness as a destination for investors and financial actors who want to effectively manage their wealth and structure their investments across Africa," Barigye said. - Gulf Times