NICOSIA: Cyprus's new police chief issued the force's first apology on Tuesday (May 7) for its handling of the killings of seven foreign women and girls, acknowledging officers had failed to protect them.The murders - dubbed the Mediterranean island's first serial killings - have sparked anger against the police over its failure to act on missing person reports that allowed the killer to carry on undetected for nearly three years.New chief Kypros Michaelides issued the apology as he was sworn in to replace Zacharias Chrysostomou.Chrysostomou was sacked by President Nicos Anastasiades on Friday over what he called police "negligence and incompetence", a day after Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou resigned."The recent painful developments and the loss of defenceless innocent women and children who had come to our country in search of a better future have greatly damaged the prestige, honour and reputation of the Cyprus police, highlighting weaknesses, gaps and omissions," … [Read more...] about Cyprus police in first apology over serial killings
Preventive policing
OCBC bank teller helps prevent $18,000 love scam
When a female customer told OCBC bank teller Phua Shi Ling she wanted to transfer $18,000 to a personal account, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The woman in her 60s said she was trying to transfer the money to an agent whose details she got via WhatsApp messages. But when Ms Phua, who works at the Compass One branch, saw the messages involved intimate language, she suspected the woman was a love scam victim. Ms Phua referred the woman to her customer service manager, Ms Edna Foo, 32, who learnt the woman had met the man online about five months earlier. He had asked the woman, a widow, to help him pay the $18,000 registration fee for an oil rig contract, worth $8.5 million, he had secured. Yesterday, Ms Phua and Ms Foo were among 47 people presented with the Public Spiritedness Award by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for preventing 87 scam cases between Jan 1, 2018, and March 31, this year. At the ceremony, CAD director David Chew said more than $158 million was … [Read more...] about OCBC bank teller helps prevent $18,000 love scam
Bank teller helps prevent $18,000 love scam
When a female customer told OCBC bank teller Phua Shi Ling she wanted to transfer $18,000 to a personal account, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The woman in her 60s said she was trying to transfer the money to an agent whose details she got via WhatsApp messages. But when Ms Phua, who works at the Compass One branch, saw the messages involved intimate language, she suspected the woman was a love scam victim. Ms Phua referred the woman to her customer service manager, Ms Edna Foo, 32, who learnt the woman had met the man online about five months earlier. He had asked the woman, a widow, to help him pay the $18,000 registration fee for an oil rig contract, worth $8.5 million, he had secured. Yesterday, Ms Phua and Ms Foo were among 47 people presented with the Public Spiritedness Award by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for preventing 87 scam cases between Jan 1, 2018, and March 31, this year. At the ceremony, CAD director David Chew said more than $158 million was … [Read more...] about Bank teller helps prevent $18,000 love scam
Cyprus police chief sacked as anger grows over killings
NICOSIA: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Friday (May 3) sacked the country's police chief, as shock over the murders of seven foreign women and girls gave way to outrage at the authorities for a botched response.A suspect identified in local media as 35-year-old Greek Cypriot army officer Nicos Metaxas has confessed to the seven killings in a crime spree that went undetected for nearly three years.With the island reeling from what have been dubbed its first "serial killings", Cypriot authorities have been accused of failing to properly investigate the women's disappearances due to neglect and racism.The president on Friday fired top police officer Zacharias Chrysostomou a day after Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou announced his resignation over the case.In a letter to Chrysostomou seen by AFP, Anastasiades decried "the apparent negligence and dereliction of duty of the police in investigating reports of missing persons".The president told the police chief his services were … [Read more...] about Cyprus police chief sacked as anger grows over killings
France moves to stem surge in police suicides
PARIS: The French government on Monday (Apr 29) opened a suicide prevention unit for police officers after a sharp rise in the number taking their own lives since the start of this year.The move comes as prosecutors are investigating chants by some "yellow vest" anti-government protesters in recent weeks urging the police to "commit suicide", which have prompted widespread public outrage.Police unions say officers are under intense strain since the eruption of the protests last November, which have often degenerated into violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.So far this year 28 officers have killed themselves, up from a total of 35 for all of last year, according to interior ministry figures."We have to break the fear, break the shame, break the silence," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said as he opened the prevention unit's offices in Paris.He said officials would also evaluate practices and procedures in the police forces of other countries as well as … [Read more...] about France moves to stem surge in police suicides